I'm with the BandON HIATUS
by ewrstrgoiyuhfuisye
Summary: Maka didn't want to be in this situation, but now she's stuck with it. Him, to be more accurate. When her friends fall for the infamous assholes as well, all hope is lost. Now her nightmares star Soul Eater Evans, wedding bells, & murderous fangirls. SoMa
1. Sing for me

I'm with the Band

**Yeah, corny title, I know. Please R&R. Flames will be laughed at. Love yah!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater. **

Chapter One: "Sing for me."

~~~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~~~

"Maka!" My best friend cried, stopping me in my tracks. I turned around to see a breathless girl with her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail that fell just past her waist and soft indigo eyes. She wore a white pleated mini skirt with black leggings underneath and a purple striped t-shirt. "Maka, wait up!"

"Hey, Tsubaki," I said socially as I waited for her to catch up to me. She fought her way past the crowds of people in the hallway. "What's up?"

"Smell!" Tsubaki demanded, shoving her arm at me.

"What?" I asked, startled.

She sighed impatiently. "Just smell my wrist."

I gave her the internationally-known '_what-the-hell-are-you-crazy?'_ looks, to which she rolled her eyes, and obediently sniffed. We sat there for a moment while I tried to figure out what I was supposed to be understanding. For all I knew the secret to the fate of the world was depending on this very sniff.

"So?" Tsubaki raised a slender eyebrow.

Frustrated, I gave up. "I don't smell anything." I flinched and looked involuntarily up at the ceiling, however much to my relief the world did not explode.

Tsubaki looked disappointed. "I'm trying to make perfume from the camellia blossom."

I made a face at her. "You can do whatever you want with that, I'm just _not _playing lab rat _ever_ again." Tsubaki once convinced me to help her with one of her little 'projects' that didn't end well. For weeks I reeked of lavender and to this day can't stand the stuff. My nose was itchy just thinking of it.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that." Tsubaki grimaced, sensing my annoyance. She abruptly changed the subject. "What's with the crowd?"

"I'm not sure." I said, watching the people who were scrunched together push and shove at one another. Others stood on tiptoe, trying to get a better view of something, while whispering to their friends excitedly. "Ooh, I can't believe it!"

"I know! And they're coming _here_ of all places!" A brunette squealed to the girl next to her. "I already bought my ticket…"

Tsubaki and I shared a look.

"It's HIM!" I cried over the noise dramatically, pointing my index finger at some poor random guy that had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. "He's the one! He's the culprit!"

He backed away slowly, fear in his hazel eyes. The 'culprit' broke out into a full run as the crowd charged him; certain he was guilty of _something_, of what they weren't sure.

Tsubaki laughed, moving to see what all the commotion was about.

I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "This is what the big deal is? Seriously?"

In bold, obnoxious red letters were the words Scandalous Souls.

Underneath the flashy name stood three teenage boys, luxurious instruments in the background

Off to the left was a boy with bright neon-blue hair spiking out in every direction. His eyes sparkled with confidence and he was smiling widely, showing off his pearly white teeth and hanging his thumb up crookedly in an easy gesture. He wore regular jeans and a black t-shirt, the fancy script on the front reading 'Black Star' with a star in the center.

Behind him was a woman with purple hair and black cat ears, smiling slyly.

On the opposite side was a young man with golden eyes and black hair done tidily and evenly, parted at the exact center. Three white stripes adorned one side of his head, but oddly not the other. His clothing was dressy, a simple suit pressed wrinkle-free and polished black shoes. Under scrutiny there wasn't a visible flaw, though his mouth curled at one end in what might have been a faint smile, scowl, or smirk. Perhaps it was all three combined.

In the center of the two a guy was staring into the camera with his chin up defiantly. His moonlight-colored hair was the purposeful kind of messy that someone had to work on forever to achieve, spiked up here and there but a far cry from frizzy. His jeans were baggy, but not too baggy like they were practically going to fall off of him. His jacket was black and yellow with a symbol that represented a soul stitched into it. His hands were stuffed into its pockets casually, but his eyes caught me off guard.

Blood red, piercing into my unevenly thudding heartbeat. I could feel the sudden rush of adrenaline kick in.

_Contacts, _my mind decided, but something about this guy that I've never met before in my life, and will probably never meet, struck me somewhere deep down inside and triggered an unnatural and alien emotion that I'd never felt.

I squashed down on the feelings with everything I had, smushing it into oblivion. What was wrong with me? I wasn't one of those ditzy obsessive girls that melt and go star struck, claiming to be in love with some stranger, babbling on and on about weddings and children and romance and other make-believe bullshit. That would never happen with a celebrity and a fan from some run-down crap town like mine.

Tsubaki leaned over my shoulder and gasped, pointing out something that I had failed to notice before. "Oh my GOD! Is that _Patty?"_

I swore, my green eyes widening. "Look! There's Liz too!"

"What are they doing on a poster?" I asked stupidly, looking at the two blondes posing in the background next to an electric keyboard. They were both dressed in red tops that exposed their flat stomachs and matching cowboy hats. Patty wore her usual mini skirt while her older sister Liz wore regular jeans, and they both had huge dorky grins on their faces, the pointy toes of their boots sticking out unceremoniously, and they had their fingers pointing out as if they were aiming guns.

Tsubaki was already dialing Liz on her cell, biting her lip to contain her excitement.

She picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"WHAY DIDN'T YOU TELL US YOU KNEW THE SCANDALOUS SOULS?" Tsubaki, the quiet girl, screamed into the receiver. There was a screeching noise on the other end and Liz scrambled to pick up the phone she had most likely dropped. Tsubaki held her finger over a round button and set the call to speaker phone.

"…It never came up." Liz replied weakly, cringing at the sudden pain in her ear. "You and Maka see the poster?"

"Yep." I answered helpfully, putting in my two cents for the conversation.

"Come pick us up!" Tsubaki demanded.

"Aren't you still in school?" Liz asked haughtily.

Tsubaki and I scowled at each other.

"Listen here, Miss Delinquent of the Year," I spat back at her. "Don't go lecturing _us_ about good behavior. We could easily turn you in for your and Patty's little 'incident' at the party downtown last year."

"Don't you rhyme at me, Maka!" Liz scoffed. "Blackmail doesn't suit your Miss Perfect image very well."

"_Perfect?_ Whatever are you _thinking?_" I managed an offended expression, but it cracked as soon as my two friends' laughter started up. They knew me too well.

"I'll be there in seven minutes." We could hear her ushering Patty into the sleek blue Porsche Liz had legally, (or so she claims,) obtained under overall permissible circumstances. So probably gambling in the less than pleasant areas of Death City with the thugs they used to reside with in the streets before they met me and Tsubaki. In fact, the first time we met the infamous Thompson Sisters was when they had their guns aimed at our heads and were demanding all the cash we had on us. I remember the cool night air brushing my bare neck and Tsubaki clinging to my arm on the verge of a panic attack. She wound up collapsing and the sisters, who were just moments before threatening our lives, had us in their back seat speeding off to the nearest hospital. Tsubaki was fine of course, but the incident that had so badly frightened her introduced us to two of the people who would become our closest friends.

"Be ready for Escape Plan Six when we pull up." Liz called cheerily, ending the call with a click. There was a dull buzz and then Tsubaki disconnected as well.

"Six?" I asked questioningly.

Tsubaki shrugged. "I don't even pretend to understand them most of the time."

The crowd was beginning to swell up around the poster again as we shove our way back to our lockers. I emptied my things into my messenger bag, trying to not look suspicious, which made me look even more suspicious. Yeah, I was hopeless like that.

The getaway car ran far smoother than the actual getaway, even with Patty kicking at the back of my seat like two deranged starving monkeys in a fight to the death over the last banana.

"It isn't fair!" She cried melodramatically, cursing this cruel, cold world.

"Get over it." I said, lacking interest as I watched the scenery blur past me and a frightening speed from the passenger seat in the front. You'd think I'd be concerned for my life when we were pushing one hundred thirty-five miles per hour in a place where you got pulled over for going above thirty. We passed two police cars but were unbelievably not pursued.

I gaped at Liz, who was grinning like a maniac over the steering wheel. She appeared to be in racer mode again. "We're gaining on them!" She yelled, pushing the pedal to the floor.

"Liz, snap out of it!" I shouted back. "There's no one in front of us!"

"That's what they _want_ you to think!" She shrieked with glee.

"Quick! They're getting away!" Patty screamed from the back, not helping the situation in the slightest.

"No! _I won't let that happen!_" The speedometer's needle went even farther from the zero.

At this point I covered my eyes with my hands. "It's over, Liz. You won!"

Liz whooped and cheered, celebrating her victory over the Imaginary Racer once again. Patty was laughing her ass off and I shot her an annoyed glare. Tsubaki seemed even more dazed than usual.

"Hm?" She said, a disoriented look in her eyes as she came back from whatever thought process that had been so off-putting. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You just missed an entire racetrack episode." I informed her. "What's up?"

Tsubaki looked scared. "Liz won, right?"

"Don't worry, she won." I laughed, easing the tension as Tsubaki relaxed. We all know what happens when Liz loses to the imaginary people. It isn't pretty.

A slow flush crept up Tsubaki's pale cheeks. "W-well, I kind of wanted to go to that concert…"

"Yes?" I prompted. "And…?"

She fumbled for words. "I want to meet that boy, the one with blue hair-"

Liz slammed on the brakes and we all flew forward, airborne. My seatbelt strangled me, cutting off my oxygen supply, and I fought for the right to breathe. Victoriously I gasped in my earnings.

Liz and Patty were both staring at the girl with a ponytail with wide eyes and open mouths in a cartoon-like expression of horror.

"You like _BLACK STAR?"_ Patty finally got out, unable to say anything else.

Tsubaki's reply came in the form of stuttering, turning a shade pinker with every second.

The twins fell into a fit of uncontrolled laughter.

"Shut up!" I yelled, to which they obeyed. "She can like whoever the hell she wants."  
>Tsubaki thanked me meekly, hiding behind her hair. She had never, <em>never<em> shown an interest in anyone before, so this was a huge deal.

"Oh, hun, don't cry." Liz said softly. "We didn't mean it."

"I-I know." She sniffled, wiping at her eyes. "It's just…I feel so strange."

"Strange? How?" Patty questioned, curious.

"I don't think I can explain it…"

Liz chuckled, focusing on the road as she pressed down on the gas pedal again. It was a miracle we hadn't gotten into an accident. Yet. "She's got a crush. On _Black Star,_ of all people, but still!"

"So can you get us tickets?" Tsubaki asked hopefully, her big blue-black eyes expectant.

Patty and Liz shared a doubtful look. Tsubaki's face fell.

"There are no promises." Patty warned. "The show could already be sold out."

She flipped open her cell phone and dialed numbers with expert hands. It rang twice before someone picked up. "Hey, Kid."

Annoyance buzzed on the other end and I wished I could hear what they were saying.

"Well a couple of our friends were wondering if there were any extra tickets…"

The response was hummed.

"How many? Just two." Patty answered. "Well, no, the number two _isn't_ symmetrical but-!" She huffed angrily as she closed her phone. "He hung up on me!"

Liz sighed. "Well, that's Kid for you. Try calling Soul."

Patty made a face. "You call him! He hates me."

Liz snorted. "Fine. Give me the phone." She tapped impatiently on the steering wheel. "Hey! We need two tickets for next Saturday."

As the person on the other line said something she brought her hand to her mouth, barely swerving past a truck in time. "No! Is she alright?"

"…You can't cancel the show!"

Something sparked in Liz's mind and glanced in my direction. "Meet me in fifteen minutes in the studio. I think I can fix this."

There was a cold, icy knot forming in the pit of my stomach. I had a _really_ bad feeling about this.

"See you then." She hung up, giving me that scary smile. "Hi, Maka." Liz said sweetly.

"Hi, Liz. Explain. _Now._"

"Mmm…later." She dismissed. "Right now we have to hurry." Liz turned the steering wheel, curving in a semicircle as she spun the Porsche around and sped in the other direction.

Death Studios was a large, famous building in the musical business. The only made deals with the best of the best, but once accepted you had it made for life. Whatever you wanted wherever you wanted it, and money was never a problem. As long as you sell a few CDs and perform every now and again to keep everyone happy, your life would be as close to perfect as it gets.

The twins flashed the guards their V.I.P. passes and we were let in without incident.

I felt self-conscious in my red and black plaid skirt and long-sleeved white dress shirt. Tsubaki was at least wearing leggings. She didn't look like a fucking _lawyer _like I did.

"Nervous?" Patty grinned knowingly.

"No!" I lied. I don't know why I was nervous. I've never even heard the Scandalous Souls' music before. This shouldn't be such a big deal.

The block of ice in my stomach wasn't letting up, however.

"This way." Liz guided us precariously through the seemingly endless halls. When I was finally convinced Liz had us completely lost we entered a lounge. There was cushy furniture scattered about, and large fluffy pillows. In the center of the room were shiny assortments of instruments varying from a sleek grand piano, acoustic and electric guitars, a sky-blue bass, a drum set, an electric keyboard, a mahogany-wood violin, etc. Hell, I even saw a tambourine.

My eyes lit up like a child left alone in a candy store and Tsubaki laughed.

Right away I pounced on the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my eighteen years of life. The head and neck were as black as liquid coal, its strings polished silver. The body was a glossy emerald green, with silver and gold spirals adorning the entire thing, running all the way back up to the tuners.

I had died and gone to guitar heaven. My thin fingers ran smoothly across the strings and I suppressed a sigh.

I was so caught up in the beauty in my arms that I didn't even notice the two guys staring at me.

Heat rushed to my face and I scratched the back of my sandy blonde head awkwardly. "Um, sorry." I moved to set the precious item down as carefully as I could.

"Guys, that's Maka Albarn. This is Tsubaki Nakatsukasa." Liz introduced. "And the one with the striped-hair is Death the Kid, and the marshmallow head is Soul Eater Evens." Patty finished.

Kid burst into tears, falling to the floor. "Patty, oh god you're right! I'm unnatural! I'm an ugly, horrible _unsymmetrical_ creature that doesn't deserve to live! I'm-!"

Liz cut him off. "Kid, you're making a bad first impression. Get on your feet and stop crying."

Kid slowly rose, wiping at his tear-stained face with a tissue. He hiccupped and sniffled, but didn't start bawling. "Please excuse my manners."

"Uh, no problem?" I said, shaking his outstretched hand. His eyes were just as gold as they were on the poster.

Soul was stretched out on a plush orange sofa, his arms behind his head. He was wearing plain jeans and expensive-looking Nike tennis shoes. He wore a tight black t-shirt with _Scandalous Souls_ written across the front in bold white print, and where the sleeves cut off you could see the toned muscles of his arms. His snowy hair was messy but stylish, and his crimson eyes were deeply contrasting. They flicked over me lazily, lingering on my legs two seconds longer than comfortable. Yep. _Definitely_ should have worn jeans today. Soul met my gaze and smiled, showing off pointed teeth. "Maka." He said, the name sounding new and foreign to my ears even though I've heard it all of my life. Soul's voice made it sound more…musical.

I swallowed. "Yes?"

"Nothing." He never lost that grin, dismissing what I had said even though _he_ was the one who said my name in the first place. I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"So how exactly are you going to fix this?" Soul said to Liz, who had watched the exchange curiously.

"Oh, that's simple." Liz said, gesturing over to me. "Maka can replace Blair."

"_What?" _I said incredulously, gaping at Liz.

"Can she sing?" Soul asked, looking me over again, this time doubtfully.

I huffed. "Liz, you can't expect me to-."

"You wanted to go to that concert, didn't you?"

I shrugged. "No, not really. Tsubaki wanted to go."

Tsubaki switched from foot to foot nervously as all the attention in the room turned to her. She was looking over my shoulder but seemed to be disappointed in something.

"Black Star couldn't make it." Kid said as though he knew exactly what she had been thinking. "He was stuck taking Blair out shopping to cheer her up, since she has strep."

"You can't sing with strep throat." Patty pointed out the obvious.

"If you sing instead of Blair Saturday, Maka, we can take Tsubaki backstage." Liz told me. "All the tickets are gone. You won't be able to buy any."

"Why can't you guys just take her backstage?" I asked.

"Because," Soul said, removing himself from his perch on the couch. "Without someone to replace Blair, the entire concert will be cancelled."

I looked over to Tsubaki, biting my lip. I can't. I haven't sung since…

She looked back pleadingly and I sucked in my breath, hating myself for what I was about to say. "Fine." I grumped moodily. "I'll sing in the stupid concert."

Tsubaki squealed and threw her arms around me in a bear hug. "Thank you!"

"Hold up." Soul interrupted Tsubaki's happy moment. "I'm not convinced you are capable of singing."

There was a challenge in his voice, in his fiery red eyes.

"Oh, are you?" I said in the same challenging ring to my voice, taking a step dangerously towards him. "How will I convince you?"

Soul smirked, catching my wording. _Will_ convince him, not _can_ or _if_. "Sing for me."

"I will." I said with dignity, stepping back to the beautiful green guitar. I balanced it in my arms and went over to the coffee table by the couch. There was a glass bowl filled with picks as the centerpiece. I plucked up a pick with a black background and neon splats of paint printed on it.

I moved purposely towards the center of the room again and adjusted a microphone on a stand, then plugged the cable of an amp into the jack. I flipped the pickup switch and tuned the guitar to my liking. I ran the pick over the strings once, testing, and smiled. Then swore colorfully.

"What's the problem?" Soul asked with a smirk that made me want to slap him. Hard.

I winced. I was _not_ going to admit to him that I had absolutely no idea what to sing. I forced down my panic, but that only added to the ball of ice in my belly.

"We're waiting." To make a point he settled back into the orange sofa again next to the now seated Kid. Tsubaki and the twins sat down cross legged on the floor. I scowled to myself, thinking. Think, think…

I smiled at my small audience confidently and began strumming the guitar, slowly at first, then getting faster and faster.

"_He was a no good, good for nothin' living in his own world."_ I sang, throwing out the words like they themselves were whips, continuing to pluck at the guitar strings.

"_She was a torn up, broken hearted soul without a thing to live for."_

I hit every intended chord perfectly as I played.

"_They kissed below the moon; sweet talked, had some fun."_

Emotion ripped the words from my throat, belting them out. The ice in my stomach melted.

"_And yet she was the only one to truly fall in love!"_

The high note was effortless, silky and melodic.

"_Mend my heart_

_Tell me I'm not broken_

_Stitch my wounds_

_Not one word is spoken_

_Love hurts like Hell_

_I'm burning away_

_It turns out that these scars are here to stay!"_

The words flew from my mouth naturally, flowing like water. I hadn't sung in so long I forgot just how much I enjoyed it.

"_They planned to get together, water licking at the shore."_

The guitar bolted out note after note.

"_And she showed up at midnight, found him with some little whore."_

Anger scalded the words, feisty yet beautiful.

"_A storm brought down her castle, a fairy tale no more!" _

The chorus came back to me, the once forgotten words ringing clearly in my mind.

"_Mend my heart_

_Tell me I'm not broken_

_Stitch my wounds_

_Not one word is spoken_

_Love hurts like Hell_

_I'm burning away_

_It turns out that these scars are here to stay!"_

I didn't even pay attention to my friends watching me, along with two celebrities, and became completely absorbed in the song.

"_She watched the scene in silence, there was nothing to say."_

I streamed out the chords on the guitar furiously.

"_The pain had almost killed her, she suffered, he was to blame!"_

Ba da da! Ba da da! Ba da da dah! The sound evenly screeched with the pick as my fingers created the smooth rhythm.

"_It's all his fault and no she'll never be the same!"_

I held the sound longer than the last time.

"_Mend my heart_

_Tell me I'm not broken_

_Stitch my wounds_

_Not one word is spoken_

_Love hurts like Hell_

_I'm burning away_

_It turns out that these scars are here to stay."_

"_It turns out," _I sang the words softly. _"That these scars…are here to stay."_

No one spoke, even as I unhooked the amp cables and set the guitar back down cautiously. It looked expensive; I couldn't afford to damage it.

I stood there awkwardly. They were all staring, intense, creepy _staring_.

Ok, you can blink now…

I winced. "Come on, guys. Was I _that_ bad? You're scaring me, here."

All ten eyes continued to stare. I groaned.

Tsubaki began clapping slowly, still looking spaced.

The twins and even Kid joined in, getting louder. I looked expectantly at Soul. "Well?"

He yawned, as though unimpressed, and I glared at him. "That was good."

I blinked at the contradiction. He acts bored and then compliments me? Weird.

"Um, thanks." I say, helping Patty to her feet.

"So can she do the concert?" Tsubaki asked excitedly.

Soul looked considerate. "If she wants. But there's one condition."

"Condition?" I asked, disbelieving.

"Yes, a condition. Only one." He stood as well, leaving only a small space between us. I shivered, thinking that if I took one step forward…

Soul was staring down at my lips and my heart stopped.

"What is this 'condition'?" I asked. He never removed his gaze from my mouth.

"You stay with us. Permanently."

Soul lifted his blood red eyes to my green ones, and there something secretive, something breathtaking in the way he was staring at me.

"Will you, Maka?"

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**Ooh, what do you think will happen next? Special thanx to ShadyAngel~~~(I hope I typed that right…) Let's just see where this story goes. Not my best work, so don't hate. Sorry about OOC-ness, and this is AU.**

**The song isn't professional-like or whatever cuz I actually wrote it. **

**This is the first thing I published on this account, hope you enjoy~! ^.^**


	2. Figure it out

I'm with the Band

**Ello pplz! **

**Special Thanks in no particular order:**

****Reviewers****

**~ShadyAngel: Aww thank you buddy! Glad you liked it. I was originally going to do S.T. as the first song, but the words flowed and the name just didn't suit it as well. But you know how it works! :P Thank you for the inspiration for Scars!**

**~.Poisoned Scarlet.: I was worried I was trying too hard to show their chemistry, but I just went with it. So you don't think it came on too strong? Thanks for your review! I'm sad to say that Black Star won't make an appearance any time soon. =( But I have something special in mind for Tsubaki and him, and it won't work out as well if he shows up this early. *sighs* What can ya do? Oh well**

**~HiHelloIWeird: Yay! I'm glad you liked it! I'm completely in love with the chorus too. I kept going and revising the song so many times before I posted it but I kept the chorus completely the same. I'm planning on writing all the songs in this fic. It's really hard but it gives me a more accomplished feeling. I'm just afraid that it'll interfere with my update timing. **

**~crazychick1313: Yeah, I'm horrible like that… :/ Forgive my evilness. My apology comes in the form of chapter two!**

**~watevs1404: Your speechlessness says a lot! It makes me happy! Lol, weird thing to say right? But I mean it! Thanks =)**

**~the shades of green: Sweet glad ya like it! Thanks for reviewing**

**~freyalin: Hmm interesting idea maybe I'll post a video on youtube. If I can get a hold of a decent camera I'll say somethin =) Disclaimer: I don't own youtube -.-"**

**~Miyaow: Glad you like! As for your questions… Blair is basically a vocalist. She has a few songs of her own that are mandatory to the concert, and also has a couple parts in some other songs. She's just in it for the fame at first, but I may change that later on. If Maka joins the band there's kind of a dilemma. That will be explained in a later chapter. And Soul is staring at Maka's mouth because he's…well, cuz he's a guy. That's the only way I can really explain it. **

**~kimachi(Tamashi-chan): Hehe I'm working on chapter three already! Bah I just can't seem to write fast enough! My hands can't keep up with my ideas…**

**~Rainshinewarrior: YUSH! :D Exactly.**

**~Miss requiem passion: Good to hear, I'm happy you liked it.**

**~Waterdog: Everything shall be revealed later on~! :)**

**~LivexxxLaughxxxLove: Glad you liked! :P**

**~Alik Takeda: Well then I'll bring you back to life by continuing to write! **

**~xLittleMissyx: Yep, their chemistry is pretty intense…thanks for the review!**

****Also thank you pplz who are following and added this to their favorites****

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater. AU. If any OOC-ness exists I'm sorry.**

**Updates: Considering I have school, you can probably expect a new chapter every other weekend. But once in a blue moon (but more often then not) I'll decide to lose sleep to work on this. However on May 29****th****, 30****th****, and 31****st**** I have plans and won't be near any computers. Tragic, I know. So don't anticipate much on those particular days.**

**NOTICE!: Contemplating a lemon in later chapters…maybe, maybe not. Whatcha think?**

**This chapter was partly written by a far moodier version of me. She was on her period.**

**Avery: FUCK OFF! YOU DON'T JUST ANNOUNCE THESE THINGS!**

**Ashi: Shaddap! And I already did!**

**Arianna: Haha…**

**^(Ashi, Avery, and Arianna are my three very different personalities…Ashi's who I am most of the time…Avery's my bitchy assassin side, and Arianna is the "good" one. Well, good compared to the others…)**

**Also, please excuse the girls' very unladylike language. ;)**

***drum roll* Now, for the moment of truth!**

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Chapter 2: "Figure it out."

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I gaped at Soul. He was patiently waiting for my response, still in my bubble.

I looked over his shoulder to Tsubaki, who was giving me the 'Go for it' thumbs up, and at the twins. Patty and Liz were both watching cautiously, waiting to see what happened next like this was some soap opera. I could so picture them crunching on popcorn right about now. Kid just appeared uninterested, like his band mate hadn't just offered some stranger to join them. _Permanently_ rang in my ears.

"You're kidding, right?" I said disbelievingly.

Soul frowned. "No. I'm absolutely serious."

I shook my head. "I…I don't know."

"Boo!" Patty called out, scowling. "Maka, come on! Live a little!"

"Yeah," the elder blonde agreed. "Give this a chance! Think of how much fun we could have!"

"You love performing!" Patty exclaimed. "So why not take the offer?"

"Why not?" I exclaimed right back at her. "I don't know these people, Patty. And I don't think I'm ready. After what happened…"

"Maka," Tsubaki said gently. "That was years ago."

Tears blurred my eyes, but I held them back. My voice came out a whisper. "I can't do it."

"Yes, you can! And you'll love it!" Liz shouted, as though angry at me for thinking differently. "Just now, while you were singing, you were _smiling._ In the time that I've known you, you have _never_, not once, smiled like that."

"You were always happier when you could sing…" Tsubaki was losing herself in her memories.

A cloud puffed into my mind, showing me a nine year old version of myself with a dimpled grin as she played at her first talent show, using her old acoustic she'd fixed up from a garage sale. I fought the thoughts back. If I started remembering now, I would lose my resolve. I never should have sung Scars today.

Tsubaki was giving me a pleading look. I could see just how badly she wanted to go to that concert.

I sighed in defeat. My question was, was I doing this for Tsubaki? Or was I doing this for myself? "I'll do it." I said mechanically. "I'll join."

Soul grinned with sharp, pointed teeth.. "Permanently?"

I glared at him. "Permanently." I said through clenched teeth.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear…"

Oh, now he was just screwing with me. "Fuck off."

He seemed amused. "Maybe later."

My jaw dropped, and I had no response to that. The most I could manage was an outraged, disgusted huff and I turned my back to him.

Patty was cackling, holding her stomach as she rolled back and forth on the ground in uncontrolled hysterics. I shot her a look and she laughed even harder.

"We'll go over the paperwork tomorrow." Soul put a hand on my shoulder and spun me around when I refused meet him face to face.

"Whatever." I growled, seriously contemplating resorting to violence if this guy didn't get out of my breathing space.

From my shoulder his hand was sending tiny little shocks that spread warm fuzzy feelings all the way down to my toes.

Soul's hand seemed to be delayed from proceeding to remove itself, but eventually found its way back to his side.

"Can I have your number?" Soul asked me.

"I don't have a cell phone." I couldn't afford to manage a cell phone bill while I had to deal with keeping the rent of my tiny apartment in check.

Soul scowled. "We'll have to fix that." He grumbled to himself, causing me to raise an eyebrow questioningly, but dismissed it.

"How am I supposed to get a hold of you when we need to practice?"

I shrugged. "Figure it out." I turned to Liz. "Can we get out of here now? I have to get to work soon."

Liz flipped open her cell to check the time. "Shit. It's already four!"

"_Fuck!" _I looked around, dismayed_. _I had to be at work. "I'm going to be late."

"I can take you." Soul offered. I looked at him narrowly, suspicion in my glower.

"…he's faster than me." Liz told me, shrugging.

"I find that hard to believe." I said dryly. Liz was _insane_ behind a vehicle.

"Well now you have to let me take you." Soul rummaged around the room and jingled his keys.

"Why is that?"

"I have to prove to you how reckless a driver I am." Was he _proud_ of that?

I shot a fierce look at Liz. She caught my simmering gaze, smiled, and said "Just go. We're going to hang out here for awhile. Show Tsubaki around."

Precious time was ticking away. "Fine." I was disgruntled. "Let's go."

Soul led me out of the maze of hallways and out to a parking lot. "Where's your car?" I grabbed my bag from Liz's Porsche. I never understood how she could be so comfortable leaving it unlocked. I suppose she figured if it got stolen she could just "legally" get another one from her mysterious sources if it ever got stolen. Or freak out and hunt down the thieves like the crazy person she was. I think we're only friends because of our psychotic violent tendencies.

I slammed the door to the blue car closed, turning to face Soul.

"Our ride's right here." He said casually, gesturing at a shiny deathtrap.

"Oh hell no." The yellow motorcycle was gleaming peacefully in the sunlight, deceiving anyone who couldn't see through its overpriced ruse. "I am not getting on that thing!"

Soul rolled his ruby eyes, throwing a leg over the malicious bike. "Get on."

I bit my lip. I couldn't afford to waste any time, but it just looked so…ugh.

Please, _please_ don't let me die for this!

"Do you at least have a _helmet_?" I slid behind him, scooting onto the seat. Again I cursed myself for not wearing pants.

"Would you like a helmet?" Soul turned the keys, the engine roaring to life.

"Yes, I would."

"It's too bad I don't own any." He chuckled. "Now put your arms around me."

I snorted at his instructions. He twisted his head at me questioningly. "Unless you'd rather fall off…?"

I awkwardly put my arms on either side of his waist loosely. Soul sighed and grabbed both of my hands, pulling me closer to him in the process. "Like this." He dragged my arms until they were completely around his waist, then knotted my fingers together for me, making sure I got the point.

Hopefully he wouldn't see the steady flush of red tinting my face.

The bike roared again and jerked forward, causing me to let out a girly squeak that I wasn't proud of and tighten my hold on Soul, who laughed at me.

"Shut up." I murmured into his back, caught between butterflies and undeniable fear.

"Where to?"

"Head south on the highway. It's the fifth exit on the right." I told him, and I don't know how I could tell but I was pretty sure he was grinning like a maniac.

The racer was in his blood, too. "Hold on!"

I was still screaming after Soul parked in front of a hole in the wall café, with a hole in the wall name, Shadow Café. Not very creative, in my opinion, but I don't really care because the pay is good.

I only got the job here thanks to Tsubaki's elder brother, Masamune, who owned the place.

"Oi! Stop screaming! We stopped!"

I took a deep breath to calm myself. It didn't work. _"Holy mother fucking shiiiiiiiiiittttt!"_

Soul winced. _"God damn, woman! _You're making me go deaf!"

My screaming began to falter, and I unlatched myself from Soul and wobbled off the motorcycle.

Ground! Sweet, solid ground! Oh, I swear I'm never leaving you again!

I steadied myself and dizzily sprinted into the café.

"Masamune, I'm so sorry I'm late!" I huffed, the room slanting sideways.

Tsubaki's brother looked up from his newspaper at a nearby table. "Maka, you're twelve minutes early."

I blinked. Checked the clock. Blinked again.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back." I stormed out of the door, the bell ringing merrily.

"You freak of nature!" I screeched at Soul, who was leaning against his bike.

"How the hell did you manage that?"

"Manage what?" He yawned.

"To turn on the damn television." I said sarcastically. "What do you _think_ I mean? How'd you get me here on time?"

Soul looked at me as if I were stupid. "I drove you here on my bike."

"_Really?"_ I said derisively.

"Really fast," He added as an extra thought.

"No shit?" Damn. I'm moody today. I sighed. "Sorry, Soul. I'm just kinda stressed. And scarred for life, no thanks to your driving skills."  
>"Why's that?"<p>

"It's just…" I exhaled, thinking over my words. I sat down on the curb. "I haven't performed in over three years, but ever since my mom died when I was nine I stopped enjoying it."

Soul said nothing, joining me on the side of the road.

"It was raining that night." I said softly, looking up towards the sky so I wouldn't have to meet his eyes. "She'd promised to come see me play. She traveled a lot, business stuff mostly. Said that she would do anything if she could go out and see the world."

"I arrived at the theatre where the show would be held with my father. It was a decent event, maybe fifty, sixty people turned up. I remember how thrilled everyone was because some talent scout was coming."

**~~Soul's pov~~**

I scooted closer to her as she told her story. Something was tickling at the back of my mind, persistent and urgent, but I couldn't fully grasp at it.

"The scout didn't matter to me. All that mattered was that my mom was finally going to hear me sing."

"The stage manager was ushering me to go onstage, but I refused. My mom was coming, I'd told them. She was going to show up. She promised." Maka's voice cracked, just a little. "They let me wait. Let two other contestants go before me before they said I had to go on or be disqualified."

I froze as everything clicked.

There was a young girl with frizzy, blonde pigtails and big, nervous emerald eyes coming onto the stage with a battered, taped up and worn acoustic. She stumbled as she came up to the mike stand.

My mother had sat next to me in the first row, haughty and bitchified. "Look at that, Soul," she had said. "The scum didn't have the decency to bring a real instrument. They'll let _anybody_ in these days."

Ten-year-old me frowned at my mother's comment, but said nothing as the cute girl fumbled with the microphone.

"H-hello. My name is Maka Albarn, and I'll be singing a song I wrote for my mom today…" She smiled out to the crowd, a sweet, earnest smile. I leaned forwards in my seat, smiling softly myself.

As she began to run her little fingers over the strings of the acoustic a shrill, obnoxious ringing filled the theatre.

"Ah, hello, Wes!" My mom rudely answered into her phone. "No, nothing good so far." She laughed loudly, receiving numerous irritated glares from the people around us. "Ah, alright, bye. See you soon." She hung up.

"Wes is on his way." My mother informed me cheerily. I ignored her trying to hear the girl with the pigtails play.

"_Brush my tears away,_

_Tell me that you're here to stay._

_The night, so cold and dark,_

_Will stop at nothing_

_To tear us apart." _Little Maka sang, being given the complete attention of the crowd.

"_And, I cry…" _She held the note, her voice clear and melodic. I had been fascinated.

"_As I close my eyes…_

_Wishing you'd come back to me._

_Wishing you would set me free,_

_So we could fly together!"_

Even Mrs. Evans, tight-lipped and scowling, had to admit she was good. I had, however, realized what she did not. This girl was pouring herself, heart and soul, into her music. That was something my parents had never understood. They only heard the sound, the pattern of the notes. Never the emotion, never what truly inspires people to write. Behind every single word and strum of her guitar, this girl was speaking. She was telling a story.

"_Live but don't let life pass you by_

_You said, be grateful, now stand tall _

_You're strong, remember_

_Don't you fall!"_

"_But time…and time again…" _The voice coming from the girl was enchanting. _"I'd lose my strength, fall down again…"  
>"Try to find my way back up,<em>

_Try to say, I'm not strong enough,_

_without you standing at my side."_

"I was singing a song I wrote for my mother." Eighteen-year-old Maka said on the curb. "It's just…she never got to hear it."

"_Brush my tears away,_

_Tell me that you're here to stay._

_The night, so cold and dark,_

_Will stop at nothing_

_To tear us apart."_

"What happened?" I asked her, though I already knew.

"_If you would only_

_Stay…_

_To hold my hand…_

_I would promise I'd always get up again!" _As she hit the last note, a man with red hair stood up from his seat, his face looking panicked. He sprinted out of the theatre and the little girl dropped her guitar, not even bothering to finish the song. She looked frightened, knowing something was terribly wrong.

"That night my mother died in a car accident." Maka whispered. "I ran outside after my dad and saw the cars. They were so beaten up…and there was glass everywhere from the broken windows. And the _blood_…"

Maka swallowed. "There were police cars too, and an ambulance. I didn't know what had happened until my dad started crying."

"_Soul Eater Evans!" _I remembered my mother screaming after me, rage evident on her reddened face. "Where the _hell_ are you going? _Get back here!_"

That was the first time I had intentionally disobeyed her. The pink, angry scars snaking cleanly up my back, ending at the center of my neck ensured that I'd never forget that night. Personally, I believed that my mother blamed me for what happened to Wes.

My white hair had blurred out into the chilly night, searching for the girl with pigtails. Feet thudding on the asphalt, I stopped short and breathless at the sight of her sobbing form, down of her knees and shaking.

I had dropped down next to her instantly and put my arms around her comfortingly. But I wasn't going to tell her everything was ok. I wasn't going to lie to her.

The blonde clutched her tiny fists, digging her nails into the fabric of my shirt as she cried harder. "Mama…Mama…_no…_" She kept repeating, breaking down.

I just sat there, holding onto her as the teardrops poured off her face, stroking her ash blonde hair that had fallen down her shoulders, freed from her pigtails

She hiccupped, pulling her hands away from my shirt. "I'm s-sorry…I ruined your shirt."

"It's nothing." I had dismissed, not giving a damn about some stupid dress shirt.

She gaped at her hands in horror. They were red, coated in blood.

The dark liquid had crusted into the shirt's material, staining it with her handprints.

Tearstained and traumatized, her hair in frizzy clumps, her green eyes wide and her clothes had been covered in grime and her mother's blood.

She was a mess, but I had found her beautiful, even then. I remember wondering if I was a bad person, admiring her beauty when she was so clearly suffering.

The tiny white flakes of snow had begun to float down just as the honk of a car shrieked, and headlights blinded the two of us.

Everything from that point on was fuzzy. My older brother had arrived and saw me in the road, about to be hit by a truck. The driver couldn't stop. I screamed, pulling the girl towards me, protecting her. Wes jumped. The car skidded off the road, leaving Wes bleeding on the asphalt. I rode in the ambulance with him and my mother. The blonde girl insisted on staying by my side the entire time.

"You didn't leave me. There's no way I can let you do this alone." She had said firmly. Her dad had pursued us in his black Cadillac.

We arrived at the hospital and they rushed Wes into a surgery room.

He survived the impact, but came out paralyzed. Without his arms, Wes could never play the violin again.

My parents were so relieved that their favorite son had survived, but Mother was pissed that he had saved my life.

"Now we have to cancel for the gala." She complained, completely uncompassionate.

"Would you rather I let Soul die?" Wes had said, his temper rising.

"Let him die! He's completely worthless anyway."

Wes couldn't live without his music. My parents both left. There was no one to stop him when he pulled the trigger late that night as I slept.

I was blamed as the cause of his death. I will never be able to forgive myself for not knowing, for not stopping him in time.

~~**~~**~Maka's pov~**~~**~~

I sighed, walking out of the café at the end of my shift.

The setting sun was visible on the horizon, turning the sky a brilliant orange.

I yawned, stretching out my arms. It was a busy day today, and I wanted nothing more than to just go home and rest. The last thing I wanted to think about was my decision to join the Scandalous Souls.

"Maka!" Liz called, pressing down on the horn of the Porsche like a madwoman. "Get in!"

I dozed in and out, unable to hold a decent conversation the entire way home.

"See you at school tomorrow?" Tsubaki asked me as I made my way sleepily up the steps to my apartment. "Yeah. Tomorrow."

I dropped my bag after slamming the door shut behind me, staggering to my bedroom.

I collapsed gracelessly onto the bed, not even bothering with changing out of my clothes.

Something buzzed underneath me and I jumped up, instantly alert like a spooked cat.

The cherry red rectangle vibrated in my hands, and I fumbled with it until it shuddered to a stop, making a faint beeping sound.

What was a cell phone doing in my bedroom?

It bleeped and lit up, and I pressed a fingertip delicately against the screen. New Txt Message, it read, and I stared at it blankly.

The screen blinked and the background went white, faint letters appearing.

**I figured it out. Ur welcome.**__I glared at the words and the cell only reconfirmed my suspicions. **From:**__**Soul Eater Evans**_**.**_

I groaned, wondered _how _the fuck he pulled this off, and my eyes refused to remain open a moment longer as the pillow demanded my immediate attention.

~~xx~~xx~~xx~~xx~~xx~~xx~~xx~~xx~~

**Alright, who caught it? Anyone know what's wrong here? Hehehe if you did, don't ruin it for anyone!**

**I'm really disappointed that I haven't gotten to use the infamous Maka Chop yet…hopefully I can squeeze it in next chapter.**

**R&R, you know I love ya! Shorter than the last chappie, but I promise to make up for it next time! Exclamation marks!**


	3. Plan 14

**I'm with the Band**

**Special thanks:**

**~.Poisoned Scarlet.: Yes, I really liked writing that. I just about hate myself for killing off Wes though. :( :(  
><strong>

**~Alik Takeda: Hahaha I loved that part!  
><strong>

**~ShadyAngel: Kyaa~! Sounds great buddy! After school or something? Meh, we'll figure it out. Glad u likey  
><strong>

**~HiHelloIWeird: O.o ikr. Poor Soul too!  
><strong>

**~watevs1404: Ahhhh! I'M SO SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WAIT THIS LONG! D: Hahahaha sorry. You can make ur reviews as long as you want! That's one of the reasons I wrote this, was to see what ppl think of my writing. It's nice to hear what people think. =)  
><strong>

**~Miyaow: Yep, she was off work then. And as sexy as Soul the Stalker sounds, I'm afraid he found other ways to deliver the phone… Thanks for your review!  
><strong>

**~crazychick1313: Mwahaha! It is a secret I will never tell! …Actually u'll figure it out if you keep reading! (Possibly later on…it's not as important to the story now as it will be later) :3  
><strong>

**~Kit0w0: For the sake of your sanity, I must continue! That was the best compliment I've ever received ever! Thank you!**

**~elenaluna1: Sorry bout the confusion…hope u likey**

**~ person-without-a-pen-name?: Don't assume that was a plot hole.  
><strong>

**~kallen11: Just because you asked so nicely! Lol :)  
><strong>

**~AlsoTheGame: Yush. I'm on it~!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, A/U, and possible OOC-ness. I also don't own the song Sexy Can I… no one sings it it's just a ringtone. XD I had to. I just love that song!**

**Votes so far… Send me a message & tell me what ya think about my problem. To Lemon or Not To Lemon?**

**Team Lemon: 1**

**Team Don't Lemon: 0**

**Still very uncertain about that. I'm not sure how that would turn out. If I don't put a lemon in this story, I will in another. I'm not planning on being very descriptive, just in case it doesn't work out. & because of the Lemon Haters out there. =/**

**Um, sorry about the whole flashback thing… I know it was kinda confuzzling.**

**I'm planning on posting a new story sometime soon, so look out for it. It's going to be called Taint Me.**

**I'M SOOOOO SORRY ABOUT THE LATE UPDATE! EVERYTHING WAS SO INSANE! :'(**

…**Plus I lacked inspiration…and I'm lazy…and ya…**

**The last song wasn't as great…I think the problem is that no one understands it the way I do. -.-" I'll get back to u when I figure out how to attach my mind to a radio or something…blech. **

**In case you can't tell, I was VERY bored when I wrote this. I'm avoiding my math homework. My sanity depends on this.**

**If you'll excuse me, I must go apply for a billion jobs! …yeah it's more like six… give me a break I'm # years old. Yep. #. Well, this is my first time. Whatever. We all know I'm crazy. I love you ppl!**

**Now, on with the story!**

~~xx~~xx~~xx~~xXx~~xx~~xx~~xx~~xx~~

I bit down on my pencil, resisting the urge to pull out my hair as I rearranged numbers in my head. Stupid math test! Stupid lack of mathematic abilities!

"Time!" My math teacher announced, causing me to cringe. No! I'm not finished! I'm not-!

The paper was snatched from me, roaming far from my reach. I sighed in defeat.

Word about the concert was spreading around the school like embarrassing pictures all over the internet.

"I heard Blair isn't going to be performing." Aly, a snobby girl with choppy bangs and a nose that made her look like a pug. Cute on dogs, but on her not so much.

"Do you think they'll replace her?" Her equally snobby sidekick Crystal asked.

Aly crossed her arms, trying to look superior. "Pfft, and do what? Get some new ho to dance next to Soul? He could do so much better…" She smirked. "Like with me."

"Besides, it's not like they could find someone better than Blair." Crystal reassured, getting a dreamy glazed look in her eyes. "I wish I could meet Soul...he's so _hot._"

I snorted in disgust, listening to their conversation.

"Oh, I _know._ His abs…"

My eye twitched. Of course I would be stuck sitting next to these two.

Tsubaki saw the look on my face and failed an attempt of disguising her laughter. I sent her the finger and she giggled harder.

Mr. EvilBastardFace stepped outside for a moment for no particular reason while the class went insane, throwing paper and making animal sounds and spinning chairs and going through his desk. Their immature tendencies amuse me. I slouched back into my usual Boredom Posture, preparing for an almost-nap by closing my eyelids for a moment…

"_Sexy can I, just pardon my manners~!"_ My pocket sang, demanding the immediate attention of every person in the room.

"_Girl how you shake it got a playa like ohhh~!"_

Tsubaki looked at me strangely while I frantically pulled the thing from my pocket and stared at the phone like it was burning my hand.

"_It's a Kodak moment, let me go and get my camera~!"_

I scrambled with it, poking the screen maniacally while trying to turn it off.

"_All I wanna know is, Sexy can I~!"_

"Albarn has a cell phone?" Aly said unbelievingly, standing over me, hawk-like as she watched me make an idiot of myself.

"It's nicer than mine." Crystal whined.

"_Sexy can I, hit it from the front, then I hit it from the back, know you like it like that~!"_

I swept a glance over the touch screen in dismay. _**Call from: Soul Eater Evans.**_

"_Then we take it to the bed, then we take it to the floor~!"_

"Hello?" I answered into the phone, relieved that the music finally stopped.

"Hey, like the gift?" Soul said on the other line casually.

"You jackass, I'm in school!" I scream, completely aware of the eyes glued to my head, thanking whoever the hell was responsible for making Mr. EvilBastardFace leave the room.

"Then why'd you answer?" Soul snickered.

"Why'd you call?" I grouched back, my ear hitting the screen, causing it to beep twice. "I really have to go."

"I was thinking we could do something together after practice…"

"And get back on that bike of yours? Hell no!" I said, wondering why his voice sounded different.

"I'll go slower." Soul said as convincingly as he could manage.

"No you won't."

"Damn." He laughed, caught. "Well will you?"

"Will you bring a helmet for me this time?"

"Hmm…I'll think about it. Practice is at three fifty."

"But I have work-."

"Taken care of." Soul interrupted me mid-sentence. "Patty called your boss. You're good."

My mind snarled as my excuses faded into oblivion. "Fine. And I'm changing that ringtone the first chance I get." As soon as I figure out how this damn thing works.

"See you after school, Maka."

"Whatever, Soul." I pressed the red 'end call' icon on the screen, grumbling to myself.

Tsubaki's jaw had dropped, and the two fan girls would have paled if their sprayed-orange skin would have allowed it. They looked like preppy carrots gone neurotic psycho Soul fanatic.

"Oh, _fuck._ Was that on speaker?" I backed away, returning Soul's present to my pocket. I was overusing my favorite swear words lately.

"Was that…" Crystal took a dangerous, dramatically over exaggerated step towards me.

"_Soul Eater Evans?" _Aly's voice had raised an octave, tinged with frenzied insanity.

"Um…no?" I said intelligently. "It was another, completely different Soul."

"Pfft, do you think we're stupid?" Crystal asked.

Do you really want me to answer that…?

Aly snuck up on me from behind and darted for the phone in my pocket. I deflected her as easily as a hose would flick its tail at a buzzing fly.

I wasn't afraid of some wannabe celebrity-girlfriends. What actually scared me were the gleaming eyes of my peers focused on me as their tiny brains accumulated more information than they ever attained during a class period before in their entire lives. The rumor mill was going to explode, I could feel it.

During the pandemonium that ensued I managed to weasel my way into a seat next to Tsubaki; they didn't even need me there to fight with me, it seems.

"When did you get a cell phone?" Tsubaki asked, looking offended. "No, why does _Soul_ have your number when I don't?"

She had begun to jump to conclusions before I even got a word in, I could see it in the way that her smile twitched mischievously and her eyes shined. "Unless…"

"Stop right there." I held out my hand as though I could physically ward off her thoughts. "There is nothing going on romantically here, so get rid of those vile thoughts right now."

She pouted, letting out a breath at my behavior. "My romanticism shall live on!" she cried. I rolled my eyes.

"Can I see the phone?" She asked, and I handed it over. She admired it in the lighting, and then started messing with the screen as I had.

"There you go." She handed me it back, having successfully saved her contact information. "And thanks."

"What for?" I grumbled, getting comfortable by wedging my head in between my arms on the surface of the table.

"For going through all this trouble, just so I could meet Black Star…" Her face tinged with pink as his name caught up.

I smiled. "Hey, don't get too full of it, Tsubaki. Who says I was doing this for you?"

She laughed. _"Right._ Then why would you join the Scandalous Souls when you so obviously dislike them?"

"Dislike isn't a strong enough word to describe my feelings." I told her. "But you're on the right track."

"Then why would you?" My best friend looked curious.

"Because I have some unexplainable desire to piss myself off." I said as though that explained everything, my voice coated in sarcasm. In a lighter tone I asked "Are you coming to practice with us after school?"

Tsubaki shook her head. "I have to fill in for you at my brother's."

"I'm sorry." I said earnestly. "I had no idea."

"Oh, it's no problem. Really," She added to my suspicious look. "It's fine."

I sighed. Tsubaki was the type that would do or say anything, as long as it meant the people around her were happy. Even if it meant she couldn't be happy herself.

"We could call your brother." I suggested. "I'm sure he'd be fine with you coming along…"

"I couldn't leave him all alone." Tsubaki protested. "That's too much work for him to handle by himself."

"Masamune won't be alone. Joni and Olivia will be waiting table too." I reminded.

I winced as the phone bleeped, signaling a text message. I recognized Patty's number instantly.

**U and Tsubaki get ready. Plan 14.**

I groaned.

"What is it?"

"The twins are breaking us out again." I said, sharing a look with the dark haired girl next to me.

"We're already missing so much work already!" Tsubaki complained, but knew it was useless. "What plan?"

I blinked. I didn't recognize this number. "Fourteen. I think it's a new one."

She snickered, grinning evilly to herself.

I narrowed my eyes. She _knew_ something. "Tsubaki, I _swear_-!"

"We don't have time to swear!" Tsubaki exclaimed. "We have to get our stuff."

And thus we sprinted out of the classroom, only to run right into the path of Mr. EvilBastardFace himself.

"Err…" My excuse was solid.

Mr. EvilBastardFace just looked irritated. "Get out of here, already."

Huh. We stared at him ludicrously.

"It's not like you wouldn't just leave anyway." He said, monotone.

Tsubaki and I shrugged, racing towards our lockers. I figured it was best not to question his reasoning, or he may decide to change his mind.

I pulled out my bag while simultaneously tapping a reply to Patty. **Which exit?**

The school bell sounded, announcing the end of class. People piled into the halls, chattering boisterously.

Her reply was insane. **Cafeteria. 3 mins.**

"What the hell are they up to?" I said aloud, grabbing Tsubaki's arm and leading her to the school's lunch room.

The table's were, predictably, filled save for the few empty seats by the trash cans. I made a face.

"She said to meet us here?" Tsubaki's confusion was valid, considering there weren't any doors leading to or from the outside. Unless they were planning to blow a hole in the wall, I couldn't see why Patty would tell us to show up here.

…_sweet mother of all that is fucking holy in the land named after Magical Ostriches!_

BOOM!

Students screamed, throwing up their lunch trays in fear. The lunch ladies cowered from their stations, staff members rolled on the floor, drenched in the water spraying from a broken pipe. The latest attempt at nutritional school food that didn't taste like shit was splattered everywhere, dripping in mushy globs of brown muck.

Bits of the cement that had once passed as a wall crashed into the stone flooring, which was now cracked and damaged. My jaw had dropped in horror as I surveyed what was left of the cafeteria…

Back in reality, with the walls completely intact and nothing previously or currently exploding, my scream was muffled by the black sleeve of a sweatshirt as I crashed into someone's chest, held captive.

Tears blurred my eyes, partly from surprise and partly from pain, as something was pressed against my head.

To my absolute astonishment, the whole room was eerily silent. People were looking in my direction, alarm evident in their big frightened eyes.

"Listen," A hoarse but recognizable male voice rasped in my ear. A hand squeezed my arm reassuringly but urgently. "Play along."

From my angle a small tuff of white hair could be seen sticking out of my captor's hood. Soul's crimson eyes were smug as they met mine, yet the gun was still pressing roughly against my temple.

He cleared his throat and spoke louder, still using that creepy, hoarse voice. "Nobody move, or I'm going to shoot." He looked dangerous.

Chills were chasing each other up and down my spine. I clenched my fists together, tense. What was going on?

It clicked in my head. Escape Plan 14.

A little voice in my head protested this, screaming that I was going to die.

I didn't tell the voice to shut up this time, because I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure about Soul, and some part of me was convinced that he was going to _actually_ kill me.

The human mind wasn't always rational.

The twins had a hold on Tsubaki, their own arms glinting hazardously.

They were wearing matching black hoodies, just as Soul was. Patty had a marine blue bandana tied across her face, so only her cheerful cerulean eyes peeped out.

Liz held a more serious, criminal-like air. Her red bandana disguised her face as well.

Tsubaki, with her ponytail coming loose, had only seemed slightly uncomfortable from her 'prisoner' position, and certainly far from scared.

"We have the jewel!" Patty announced, with a psychotic facial expression that would have had her committed had she not held a pistol in her hand.

Liz exhaled loudly at her younger sister's antics, but went along with it.

"We're taking these girls with us." Liz yelled, wrenching out her weapon, causing many students to flinch.

"If we're followed," Soul gave a manic, jagged-toothed grin, and jerked me back aggressively in a hostile motion. I yelped at the sudden movement. "I kill her."

I shivered at his words. We stood still for a moment in the utter silence. No one said a word.

Liz maneuvered Tsubaki over her shoulder while Patty continued to aim a gun at her, and hurriedly Soul was shoving me forward.

We took small, even steps all the way outside of the building, where the fresh air hit me like a baseball bat.

I struggled to fight my way out of Soul's grasp, but I remained where I was.

"We have to look convincing." He hissed in my ear, keeping me close. "We're still on camera."

Kid sat in the getaway car, a red convertible with black racing stripes, drumming his fingertips restlessly on the sterring wheel.

We picked up our pace as we made our way to Kid, who revved the engine impatiently. "Hurry up!" He had on simple sunglasses with a by some impossible means symmetrical sun-hat…with a giant pink ribbon… Any other time or situation I would be laughing my ass off.

Patty sprang over the seat while Liz dumped Tsubaki in the backseat with her, getting in herself.

Soul's legs tensed and he leaped into the passenger seat, and I clung to his arm.

Kid took off like we were aflame and I made a sound of repugnance as I fell into Soul's lap.

While we sped down the road at the preferred 'get-the-hell-outta-here' speed I moved to stand so I could go over into the backseat.

Soul yanked me back down. "Are you crazy? You'll get yourself killed!"

I scowled at him, and then turned to face the road, pretending to be somewhere else. _Anywhere_ else.

Soul pulled off his hood, scratching at his head. "Was the plan a success? I couldn't tell."

"Yep!" Patty chimed, removing her blue bandana. "It was perfect."

"_Perfect?"_ I repeated incredulously. "Sorry, Patty, but I didn't exactly enjoy having a gun to my head."

Liz gave me a coy look. "You didn't."

"Huh?"

"Tsubaki was the only one with a real gun to her head." Patty admitted. "And there weren't any bullets. Plus the safety was on, just in case."

As proof she pulled out her pistol and pointed it out at a tree, pulling the trigger. _Click. Cli-click._

"See?" She put it away. "It's empty."

"Then what did-?" My question cut off as Soul pulled out a plastic toy and spewed me in the face with clear liquid.

"Squirt gun." He smirked.

I spluttered, water dripping from my nose. "Ass-munch!"

I retaliated by drying my face with his hoodie. That didn't do me much good, seeing that he didn't give a damn..

The image of me standing before my school, fearing for my life, while Soul held a water gun to my head popped into my head. Well, that's just great.

I made an immature face at him, huffed, and faced Kid.

"Where are we going?" I asked him, ignoring Soul's crossed crimson eyes and the tongue sticking out of his mouth immaturely.

"Practice." Kid replied simply. "The show's this Saturday. You have a lot of work to do."

I groaned, laying my head back without thinking. "A lot of work…"

Soul rested his head on top of mine, causing me to cringe. "You have to learn all of our songs by this weekend."

The car hit a bump at precisely that instant, knocking my head against his jaw.

"Shit!" I rubbed my head lightly where it was sore, hoping there wouldn't be a bump.

"Damn, hard head," Soul grumped, massaging his chin with his fingertips. "That hurt."

"Good." I shot back at him. "Grow some balls and get over it."

"Did you _really_ just say that, tiny tits?"

My eyes flashed angrily. "What did you just say, Evans?"

"You heard me." He said back snidely. This was going to be a _long_ drive to the studio.

The second we were in that plushy lounge, my fingers curled around that beautiful green guitar.

"You like it?" Soul asked me, crunching on a chip from the couch.

I didn't answer, only ran my fingers over the strings adoringly.

"Keep it."

I blanked, gazing from him to the guitar. "But-!"

"No, I insist." He stood, stretching. "Consider it your payment for the first show."

_The first show,_ I found myself thinking. _So there will be more after that…_

Pouting, I glared up at the ceiling. How could I be pissed at Soul when he gave me _this?_ I admired the silver and golden spiraling design, and decided it was worth it.

"So then what was the phone?" I asked him.

Soul seemed surprised that I would even ask. "A gift, of course."

"How'd you get it into my apartment?"

Soul smirked arrogantly, like he knew something I didn't. But then again, he did. "It's a secret that shall never be revealed!"

Whatever. As long as he wasn't snooping through my house on a regular basis.

A moment of silence passed between us. I frowned, considering. "Why?"

"Why?" He restated, furrowing his eyebrows. His thoughts had drifted from the conversation. "Why what?"

"Why would you get me a gift?" I asked questioningly.

He frowned. "I guess…I got it so we could contact you when we needed you."

I snorted. "Right. If that was all, it didn't have to be so...expensive. Besides, I got by perfectly fine without a phone before."

"Sure, Maka." Liz commented, rolling her eyes, nudging past the door with a cardboard box in her arms. "Just like that time down in Brooklyn when that guy-."

"Shut up!" I yelled, putting my hands over my ears. "_La la la la_, I can't hear you!"

"When that guy-!" She said louder, over me.

"NEVER HAPPENED!"

My denial amused her. "Anyway, we got some clothes for you to try on."

Soul groaned. "Guess that's my cue to get the hell out."

Liz patted him on the head. "Good boy."

He flipped her off before slamming the door behind him.

The suspicious cardboard box was giving off some sort of ominous glow, and something in my head clicked…did Liz say _clothes?_

Before I could make a run for it Patty tackled me from behind, like a ninja appearing out of a puff of smoke.

"AHHHHHH!"

"_No."_

"But Maka, it works." Liz argued, frustrated. We'd gone through everything; the evidence being in the form of crumpled clothing scattered everywhere in the lounge.

"It's so…" I searched for a word, any word that described the dress.

"Gorgeous?" Patty put in.

"Amazing?" Liz suggested.

"No, slutty." I decided. "It's too short, and the neckline…blech!" I shuddered.

It was a simple black strapless dress. The neckline plunged far more than I was comfortable with, and the hem just barely covered my upper thighs.

It only reinforces Aly's 'dancing ho' theory, I thought with distaste.

Liz sighed, throwing herself onto the couch as I undressed. "You're hopeless." She said glumly.

"I don't see how this matters." I fumbled with the buttons on my shirts. "I'll just wear jeans."

"That's no fun!" Patty complained.

"So you dress up." I shot at her, annoyed.

"I will." She poked a finger at my nose. "Be a girl for once."

I snorted. "Only once a month."

The twins rolled their eyes. Patty said dryly, "So _not_ what I meant."

I only laughed. "You know what time it is?"

"Umm…it's around eight." Liz looked uninterested.

I swore. "We haven't even practiced yet! How the hell could we spend that long…" The empty boxes of clothes and the frizzy state of my hair told exactly where the time had gone. "Oh."

"I'm coming in!" Soul announced, popping his spiky white head into the room. He frowned, looking me over. "Damn."

"What?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I was hoping you'd be half-naked when I walked in."

I twitched, reaching for the nearest pain-inflicting device of torture: a phone book. I sprang up. _"MAKA-CHOP!"_

Once Soul was proficiently as close to comatose as he could get, I sat back down.

Kid walked in, opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it. Walked back out, because it clearly wasn't worth it.

"There's only one solution." Liz finally said evilly.

I blinked at her randomness. "Solution to what?"

"There's no way you can get through all of their music _and_ go to school. Even you aren't that skilled, Maka."

"Where are you going with this?" A sense of apprehension laced my words.

"You're not going to school anymore."

~~xx~~xx~~xx~~xXx~~xx~~xx~~xx~~xx~~

**Crappy place to end it, I know. But my creative juices ran dry for this chappie. I'm gonna take a good eight hour nap now….Yaaaawwnn…I'll fix mistakes later…**


	4. Duct Tape & Realizations

**Special Thanx~!**

**~Shenzuul: Yush! Ur welcome! I'm proud of what my boredom can achieve. xD**

**~crazychick1313: MUMMY I SHALL NEVER EAT MY VEG-E-TABLES! Here's ur update, but **_**please**_** NOT THE VEG-E-TABLES! :(**

**~Alik Takeda: Yaaaay rampage! And yush, u are the one point on Team Lemon so far~!**

**~MusicSoundsMySoul 14: I'm so glad u likey~! :3**

**~BlueEyedRosette: Aww! U made me so happy when I read ur review! There really is a plan for practically everything, and there are plenty more plans to come! (I'm just kinda scared how much more random and psychotically awesome they will become…) The plastics do need a good falcon-punch…or several… I hadn't heard the song Sexy Can I in forever either, and there's this whole 'You-Just-Had-To-Be-There-To-Understand' story that made me get the song stuck in my head. And so, Soul's ringtone was born! Making ur day has made my day, thanks so much!**

**~watevs1404: Thanks glad u liked! Her reaction, predictably, isn't pretty.**

**~Techno Skittles: It's one of the most valid excuses I could think of. :D I'm gonna b in high school soon too… best of luck to the freshmen! O-o I hope we survive.**

**~CyndraDragon: U'll figure it out later~!**

**~Knickknack47: Awwww! I'm glad u like it so much! Making people laugh as much as I do when I write this…that's just the best thing imaginable! I'm happy that someone thinks I'm a genius. Most of my friends are convinced I'm brain-dead. It's cool tho, bcuz they don't know just how awesome it makes me feel when I get reviews. Thanks for making me smile! :)  
><strong>

**~Emcronia: Hahaha thanks I'm glad u liked it! xD**

**~70Seiji07: Hayley Williams is amazing…It's so sad that Paramore broke up! :'( It's funny because I was actually thinking converse for the concert, but I was debating between skinny jeans or a skirt with neon leggings… what do you think? And there is no way in hell the twins are letting Maka go on stage in pigtails! :) For both you and Soul. Thanks for the review, and thanks for reminding me to blast Paramore while writing this! xD**

**~gothyjulia: Please don't pee! I just cleaned the floor! :P I'm glad u loved it! Thanks**

**~Dt2009 with Dark Blue Wings: Plan 14… *sighs* oh the memories! :) I'm wondering how the next plan will top this one…xD Crazy as hell is my specialty.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, A/U, etc. OOC-ness, blah blah blah…**

**To Lemon or Not To Lemon?**

**Team Lemon: 1**

**Team Don't Lemon: 1**

**(To vote, send me a private message or just tell me in a review~!)**

**IMPORTANT Q: What kind of songwriter do you think Soul should be? Suggestions are greatly appreciated.**

**Yeah…I kinda didn't remember what the high school's name was, or even **_**if**_** I named it, so if it somehow magically changes in the middle of the story oh well… U know so many strange things have happened in this story that I'm not completely sure it's not a crackfic…hehehe…duct tape…**

**Sorry about mistakes, I rushed this chap the second I realized what I wanted to do with it.**

**Late update: DAMN YOU WRITER'S BLOCK! )'x I know, excuses, excuses…I'm still sorry.**

**Chapter 4: Duct Tape and Realizations**

"Listen, Joe, how long are we going to keep this up?" I stated irritably, crossing my legs.

"However long it's necessary." The security guard said, leaning back in his chair.

We both sat across from one another in his office, and for some reason we were wearing sunglasses. In the dim lighting it felt as though we were standing off in an interrogation room. Hell, we probably were. Joe's glossy badge seemed ominously official, and he took his job way too seriously.

"Let's make a deal." I spoke neutrally but, trying for one of those 'secret agent' badass tones, hinting at danger.

He just raised a curious dark eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"

"You let me go and I'll give you something in return."

Joe looked vaguely amused. "Oh yeah? What can you possibly give me? I've already got all the money I need for a lifetime."

I mentally swore. He was right; I had nothing to give him. Plus he didn't strike me as the type to accept 'I O U' letters…

"Information." I said without thinking.

Joe shook his head. "I was told distinctively to keep you from leaving. I do what I'm told."

I frowned, but he continued on before I could say anything else.

"I have two sons at home that I have to feed. Their mother died a few years back, and now I'm all that they have to depend on. I can't afford to lose my job, and with this salary I can afford to keep them in school."

I nodded slowly. I knew how that felt, losing a mother. I may have lost contact with my alcoholic father over the years, but I sure as hell wasn't going to be the one responsible for someone else's loss. Especially one this intense.

"I understand." I smiled sadly, taking off the dark sunglasses. An idea popped into my head. "Do you happen to have any duct tape?"

Joe looked at me warily. "You're not going to try to escape again, are you?"

"No." My mind raced with possibilities. "I'm just gonna make things a lot more difficult for people."

"Go nuts, kid." He threw me the large silver roll, which I caught with a manic grin.

"I'm going to need more than this…" I hummed. "What about a ladder?"

This was going to be fun.

"Where's Maka?" Soul yawned, scratching his head, adding more disarray to the fluff of messy white hair.

The twins, still in their pajamas, pointed up without a word. Their tired, glazed eyes told that they were still in the process of waking up fully. Tsubaki was breathing softly, still asleep in a plushy blue chair in the corner of a blasé sitting room. She had apparently slept over as well.

Kid sat at a table, flipping through a news paper. The pages he had finished with lay folded in neat, obsessively symmetrical little triangles off to the side. A black coffee mug was left untouched.

Soul glanced up at me, and his jaw dropped. "How the _fuck?_" he exclaimed, pointing up at the ceiling.

I smirk from inside of my cocoon of duct tape. I was completely covered from the neck down in silver shiny tape, aside from my left arm. When Liz questioned me about this, I logically explained how irritating it would be if I couldn't itch my nose when it was essential. My mouth was covered soon afterward to make a statement. It had been beyond hellish getting up here, and I wound up asking Joe to help me. It turns out that we needed a _lot_ more duct tape than one roll, but it was worth it.

Soul shakes his head. "You know what? I don't think I want to know."  
>Patty looks uninterested, flipping her phone from hand to hand. "Maka's refusing to sing until she gets to go back to school."<p>

"So…she finds it necessary to attach herself to the ceiling?" Soul takes the only unoccupied seat next to Liz, who shrugs.

"Somehow, it was essential." She says, continuing to assault the buttons on the TV remote with her brutal and excessive channel surfing.

"Liz, stop!" Patty cries, snatching the remote from her sister.

"Hey, I was-!"

"Look, they're talking about us!" Patty turns the volume up, while a chorus of curses wafts through the room and everyone sits up a tad straighter. Kid drops the newspaper and faces the screen, his gold eyes calculative, and Liz shook Tsubaki awake. My own profanities were muffled by the tape.

The news reporter sits at a desk looking official; the type of lady who takes her job way too seriously. The words 'Local Kidnapping' were flashing behind her almond-colored, professionally styled bun.

"_Today at our very own East High School, we witness the kidnapping of two young 17 year old girls. Nobody knows of their whereabouts at the moment, but we have several leads." _The reporter says in an annoying, regal tone.

"_Here we have a clip taken from the school's cafeteria, and another of their escape."_

The screen blips and there's an immediate close up on my face, the panic flashing through my green eyes as Soul grabs me from behind. He pulls his orange plastic gun out and holds it against my temple, threatening to shoot.

I attempt a groan from the ceiling, and would have covered my eyes had I not desperately wanted to know just how much people knew about what had really happened.

As my obvious discomfort begins to show the clip zooms out, showing the twins playing the badass criminal role that they know oh so very well.

Tsubaki did her best to give off faux fear, but to us it was evident by her dark eyes in the lack of terror she was exerting. She actually looked more amused than anything else.

"_It appears that there were three kidnappers, two female and one male. The three were seen speeding off in an orange convertible with another boy with a sunhat."_

Snickers erupted, and we all snuck glances at a rather irritated Kid. He flipped us off, still managing to look dignified knowing that everyone was picturing him wearing a sunhat with the obnoxious, feminine pink ribbon.

"_What's this?"_ The screen blipped back to the reporter, who pressed her index finger against the small device in her ear. _"It seems that the convertible was found late last night in a ditch off from the highway. The car was severely damaged, but no bodies were found. Footprints suggest the group set out into Greyhen Forest. More on this later."_

The reporter pretended to reorganize and stack papers, and went on.

"_In other news, the band Scandalous Souls' concert has completely sold out. We hear that Blair, one of the main vocalists, will be unable to perform this following weekend due to illness. We have an interview with her replacement later this afternoon-."_

Soul scrambled to turn off the television, coughing loudly as if to remove her words from existence.

My eyes narrowed into slits, suspicion etched into my features. I struggle to uncover my mouth, painfully ripping the tape off with my free arm."What did she just say?"

"Err…nothing." Soul covered weakly.

"No, I'm pretty sure she said _something._" How I managed to appear dangerous wrapped in a cocoon of tape was beyond any force of nature.

"No, she didn't."

"Yes, _she did._"

Soul blinked, craning his neck upwards to stare at me, realizing I couldn't hurt him. Then he snorted, kicking his feet up on a fluffy ottoman.

"What the hell am I doing? You're taped to the ceiling. The interview's at five."

He tampered with the remote, turning it to a basketball game.

And thus began my attempts to shoot lasers from my eyes, praying they would ricochet off the television and singe Soul where it really hurts, wiping that arrogant smirk off his face once and for all.

"Well, genius, I don't see your logic here!" I spat at Soul a couple hours later. My skin was tinged pink from the process of being removed from my cocoon, and everyone was currently sprawled out in the lounge.

"If I'm supposedly 'kidnapped' right now, how the hell am I going to go to some interview?"

Soul shrugged. "Give them some bullshit story on how you escaped. Really, it's not my problem."

I glowered at him. "It damn well should be your problem, considering you got me into this mess."

"You didn't have to join." Soul snapped.

"You didn't have to ask me to!" I snapped right back at him.

"You didn't have to accept the damn offer!"

"Well you-!"

The conversation started out as a simple argument. It evolved slowly from annoyed bickering, to raised voices and violent hand gestures, and it went through every step in between until it found its way to flat-out screaming.

Twitching, I could no longer hold in my anger. "MAKA-CHOP!"

Soul fell to the ground with a dramatic thud.

Patty looked appalled. "Maka, you killed him!"

I shrugged. "So what are we going to do?"

"Beats me." Liz rampaged around the mini fridge, searching for a water bottle. "Damn, do you guys own anything other than pop?"

Kid wrinkled his nose. "Black Star and Soul lean towards anything caffeinated. There's tea or lemonade in the kitchen."

"I'll be right back." Liz stood. "Tell me what we're doing when I get back."

"If we don't know what we're doing now, why would we know-?" Kid started to say, interrupted by Liz slamming the door behind her.

My eyes glinted, and I snapped my fingers together in victory. "I know what we should do!"

Kid looked at me like I was some bizarre, slightly dysfunctional insect that kept flying at a closed window.

Tsubaki sighed, and I was pretty sure that her line of thought revolved somewhere around _'at least her plans can't be as bad as the twins…'_

I agreed with that statement.

"Is everybody in position?" I whispered into a headset, scrambling around in the tree until I found a branch that would support my weight.

"Ready." Tsubaki mumbled, hopefully across the field from here by now, shrouded by bushes.

"Yeah," Patty sighed. "Why couldn't I be the bad guy?"

"Be quiet, they're already here." Liz said sternly, causing our group to tense.

The Channel 3 news van crept into the field with its headlights on, despite the fact that the sun hadn't fully set yet.

It was eerily silent as the news reporter and her crew began to set up their camera equipment.

"Anne, are you sure that they'll show?" One cameraman whispered nervously to the news reporter woman, who was touching up her make-up.

"They better." Anne tightened her hold on her tube of lipstick. "Because if they do, this is pure gold!"

"You ready, Soul?" I smiled to myself.

"I loathe you." He seethed, "and there is no way in hell that I'm crying."

I sighed. "Fine, do whatever. Just don't screw this up."

I felt something dangerous in the air. Somehow I knew Soul was smirking evilly, and in my head I heard maniacal laughter.

Anne looked into the blinking camera, a plastic smile carved into her dimpled face. She had that faux tone again. _"Hello, my name is Anne Muller, and this is Channel Three News. Today we are out in Greyhen Forest, a few miles east of where the car of three kidnappers was found earlier this morning."  
><em>She began to unfold a piece of paper, which the camera zoomed on. _"We received this message earlier today, and it appears to be from one of the victims, who was ordered to write this under one of her abductors. We've come here tonight in hopes of reclaiming the two young girls who were abducted from their High School."_

The sun had completely set, and thunder rumbled off in the distance.

"_Supposedly the kidnappers had a change of heart, deciding that if all investigations are cut off, they will free all of those who they had captured."_ Anne checked her watch. _"And now let's see if they'll keep their word."_

"8:37." I announce into the headset.

"Dead puppy!" Patty sneers into hers, "Adorable, soft little innocent puppy, its eyes wide and happy as it wags its cute little tail. And then it dies. Dead puppy!"

Tsubaki bursts into tears, removing her headset. Sobbing over the poor puppy, she stumbled out of the bushes, falling to the ground in plain sight of the cameras. She hugged herself, shivering from the cold.

Anne races over to Tsubaki, helping her to her feet. "Are you alright?"

Tsubaki shook her tearstained face. "N-no." She whispers. "Oh, god, it was awful!"

"_What happened to you?"_ She was bloodthirsty for stardom, and she was thinking this was her ticket to fame.

Anne sickened me.

"I-I can't, I can't…" Tsubaki sprung up, as though an unpredictable horror had dawned on her. "Maka!" she cried. "Oh, what if she didn't make it? Maka!"

I pulled off my headset and dove for the ground, leaves tangled in my hair, and a wild, frightened look in my eyes.

We were so overdoing it, but hey, it's television. "Tsubaki! Are they still following us?"

"No, I think we lost them." The girl blubbered, sniffling as though relieved.

I stood, wincing as if pained. "Do you think the others…?"

"We made it." Liz called, stumbling out of the surrounding woods, her appearance ruffled and distraught as she leaned heavily on her younger and equally ruffled sister.

Patty gave a sharp smile, "Yeah, we got 'em good."

"What happened?" I asked her, "And where's Kid?"

"Soul's gone too," Tsubaki reminded me wryly.

I suppressed a snicker. "Yeah, and Soul too?"

"_You mean the members from Scandalous Souls?"_ Anne said, desperate to get a word in. She eyed the scruffy twins. _"Are you two Elizabeth and Patricia?"_

"They go by Liz and Patty." Tsubaki put in, "but yes."

The rain started to pour down on us, and the camera crew swore. _"Could you tell us more at the station?"_ Anne asked us, touching her hair in fear of it frizzing in the rain. Her mascara began to drip down her face. I smirked.

"Not until we find Kid and Soul." I shook my head, not intending to go anywhere with the damn news cast. I knew how they worked and I wasn't planning on giving them anything they could turn against me.

Things don't always go as planned, however.

"There's Soul!" Patty pointed at Soul's unsteady form as he made his way over to us.

Mentally I groaned. It sure was suspiciously convenient that we all just happened to appear in this field. I couldn't fix this now, just go with it.

"Maka…" he whispered, pulling me against his chest. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

I awkwardly put my arms around him, unable to respond. What they hell was he doing? What was he planning, pulling a stunt like this? What if…

Soul pulled away slightly to look into my confused green eyes. I had to admit that I liked the warm feeling of being pressed against him. It made me feel safe, like nothing could ever hurt me.

"N-no, I'm fine." I finally said, still staring at him. This silence meant something. We said nothing, only stared at each other. Something flashed in his crimson eyes, a decision, and purpose, and my breath caught as his face inched towards mine.

His lips ignited so many nameless emotions inside me, and it frightened me with their passion. I pressed closer to him, melting into his touch, sparks of tingly excitement making my thoughts run together. My heart pounded, threatening to burst out of my chest. I could feel the adrenaline, feel the blood rushing to my face, and feel so many things that have been closed off to me open up. My heart soared.

Soul broke the kiss, and I released my hold on his soft snowy hair. I cleared my throat, backing away from him uncomfortably, a pink color still dusting my cheeks.

I could see how he was watching me, trying to gauge my reaction, exactly what I was doing to him. He looked cautious and guarded, vaguely uncertain. My own appearance mirrored his.

I brought my hand to my lips, brushing my finger over them. They were warm and tingly.

That was my first kiss.

I never thought I'd have such a huge audience. Or a camera crew.

Liz and Patty erupted into cheers and whistles, destroying a perfectly awkward silence. Tsubaki started clapping, and the world fell back into place.

I gave Soul a small, shy smile. He grinned back.

And then a yellow Frisbee sliced through the air and hit Soul in the head, knocking him back a couple of steps.

Kid laughed, finally "found" like the rest of us. He snatched the Frisbee from Soul, his mouth twitched up in a symmetrical smile. "Sorry, man."

But Soul wasn't laughing. He was staring down at his hands, realization hitting him harder than the Frisbee.

He clenched his hands together.

"Soul?" I asked, taking a step closer to him. "What's wrong?"

His eyes were hard, glaring at the ground. The thoughts swirling around his mind were focused intently on resurfaced memories. Blood. Screams. The blast of a gun and his brother yelling for him to run, to escape, and then his body falling to the ground with a final, heart-wrenching thud.

"Wes Evans didn't commit suicide." Soul said with his red eyes focused on his shaking fists. "He was murdered."


	5. Adrian & Henson

**~~Special Thanx~~**

**~Kelley Spalsh: Thank u!**

**~crazychick1313: Aw thanks for going easy on me mom. I'm sure I can stand 86 years of grounding…I was afraid you would've said something like 2 years. *shivers with fear* that would've been horrible! But 86, I'll live. :3**

**~Dt2009 with Dark Blue Wings: Yes, randomness…sorry. :/ that's just how things work with me. I kinda got sick of ppl thinking it was a plot hole and announced it was a murder a little earlier than I was planning too. The kiss wasn't planned either, but hey, I like how things turned out. Maka-Chops galore! Hahaha**

**~sundance1989: Updates! Hehehe. Read and find out! :)**

**~OnIyUrIsAkUrA: Sorry it took forever! :P Haha I'm sure they'll kiss again after Maka is done Maka-Chopping. :P**

**~SoMa-Fanatic: Yaaay! Thanks, u made me feel special!**

**~shanagi95: O_o Good question. Wait and find out…**

**~70Seiji07: Yes, bcuz he got hit with a Frisbee… they did just get away from 'kidnappers,' but apparently that's not a good enough reason to stop Kid from hitting ppl with Frisbees… and yes, it was raining. I apologize for my weirdness. :D thanx for reviewing**

**~watevs1404: Ahh sorry bout that, I just chose a random channel for the news to be on. Coincidental? Maybe some psycho force of nature is giving you a sign…or not. Thanks for reviewing! :)**

**~Techno Skittles: I know I've gotta try it too… Ur pen name is AMAZING, btw. Thanks for the review!**

**~OnIyUrIsAkUrA: (again, but for chap 3): I use many strange expressions, and I'm not completely sure what they mean most of the time. :) Mr. EvilBastardFace is just some random teacher. I'm not sure where Stein is coming into the plot yet, I've still gotta think about that…**

**~kallen11: yesh, continuing! :P**

**~AlsoTheGame: Sweet I'm glad you like it! :) Thanks for reviewing and voting!**

**Writing this makes me realize just how screwed up in the head I really am. :)**

**I love you ppl! Anyone who's read this and stuck with my psychotic randomness is truly amazing. Ppl who are following this, favorited this, or reviewed are my inspiration, and I love you all! Even if that sounds creepy as hell! :P**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own soul eater, a/u, ooc-ness, randomness, etc.**

**Me: I swear, one day I will destroy you, Disclaimer! AUTHOR-CHOP!**

**Disclaimer: *dodges* DISCLAIMER-CHOP!**

**Me: *fails at attempted dodge and dies***

**Disclaimer: Ashi Avery Arianna also doesn't own Chop-related references.**

**Me: *twitches, still dead* D':**

**I wasn't planning on having Soul kiss Maka this early in the story or announcing Wes's murder just yet, but last chapter just seemed to write itself. Now I'm worried about how this will twist up the plot…honestly I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore. But I'm sure things will work out…hopefully!**

**To Lemon or Not To Lemon?**

**Team Lemon: 3**

**Team Don't Lemon: 1**

**To vote, write in a review or send me a private message. You may also try to vote telepathically, but I can't guarantee that your vote will be counted because my psychic skills suck ass.**

**If you want to be kept anonymous, tell me. It's cool either way~! **

**For some odd unknown reason the flashback is in 3rd person O.o**

**Chapter 5:**

"So why _did _you have a Frisbee, Kid?" Patty asked as we made out way out to Liz's car. The rain had finally let up, and after numerous questions and the first and worst interview of my life I desperately needed the sunshine and to push the thought of my nerve-frayed stuttering face out of my mind. If only I could remove it from national television as well. Ugh…

"Yeah," Liz grumbled. "That completely threw off the whole 'We-just-Escaped-Kidnappers' impression we were trying for."

Kid went into an entirely complex and irrational explanation that made no sense whatsoever. Basically, he just felt a random urge to throw a Frisbee at Soul's head, but claimed that it was something he was supposed to do.

"_Why?"_ Patty was incredulous.

Kid's eyes darkened, glazing over with a psychotic gleam. "The voices told me to."

That led to a rather awkward silence where everyone eyed him warily, fearing somewhat for their lives at his clear lack of sanity. Thus began the frantic search for a new topic.

"Why'd Soul run off like that?" Liz thought aloud. "He just left us to deal with those News Raptors by ourselves."

"I thought he said something about Wes…" Patty cringed.

"But Wes—."

"Yeah, Liz, Wes _is_ dead." Patty was thoughtful. "But it's been years since someone even mentioned him."

"What happened to him?" I asked quietly, but Soul's quiet words rang in my ears. _"Wes Evans was murdered."_

Patty and Liz looked at one another nervously.

"I think that's something you should ask Soul, Maka." Liz told me honestly.

I frowned, wondering where he could have possibly gone. "I'm going to go find him."

"Alright." Liz said, almost as if reading my mind. "You still have your new phone?"—at this I nodded—"Give me a call when you need a ride."

Soul's pov

The gate was old and slightly rusted, creaking as I swung it open. Chipped paint came off in my hand and I tried to wipe it off on my jeans, but due to the dampness the specks refused to come off. Sighing, I made my way past the trees.

_No one seems to have bothered taking care of this place,_ I noted dryly. The grass grew in large clumps, taller in some places than in others, like someone who'd been mowing gave up halfway through to finishing. Dots of yellow dandelions grew wild and all over the place, claiming the area as their territory.

The grave was simple. The name Wes Evans was carved in curly letters into the face of the stone, along with the dates leading from his birth to his death. A thick coat of dust had built up on the mark, and I brushed it away wit my fingertips.

"Hello, brother." I mumbled, the words coming off my tongue in a strangled sort of way. "Sorry I haven't visited in awhile. I've been doing alright…" No, no I hadn't. My chest heaved in an enormous exhale, and it felt wrong to say that, especially at Wes's grave. "Actually, no. I've been going through hell lately."

I sat beside the marker, thinking over the years since that night so long ago. "Ever since the night you died…" I took a deep breath, and before I even understood, the words poured out.

I talked about how my parents cried that night. I recounted the expression on our father's face, the redness and the rage that exploded out of him as he flung me across the room, about how he hit me. About how the bruises got so bad that I dropped out of school because I couldn't keep lying to my friends or my teachers.

I told him about when Mother snapped and whipped me until I screamed and bled, about how I still had the scars. Dr. Stein, one of the family's personal medics, couldn't fix the problem either. I had to wear sweatshirts wherever I went, not because my parents felt guilt when they saw the marks but because "It's bad for our image," and that it'd affect the Evans' reputation.

I described how I was treated as a show dog and paraded around at family parties and thrown at the pianos. "They wanted me to replace you. But I was never up to your standards. At one time I resented you for it, because I was never good enough.

They eventually stopped bringing me in to play because my music was becoming too mournful." I gave a half-smile. "I remember Mother's exact words."

"_It should have been you."_

I spoke of how just this year I'd moved out and started a band with Black Star and Kid, and how more members joined along the way to fame. Leaving that hellhole was the best decision I'd ever made, and now when I performed I sang what _I_ wanted instead of what _they_ wanted.

I said things about the bad times and the good. I told him about Black Star and his psychotic antics, about how I couldn't wait to tell Blair that she was fired, about the songs I wrote…I recounted the night of the talent show and the car accident, the time spent in the hospital…

I told him about Maka. I talked about how infuriating she was, about how bizarre her moods were, about how I loved to tease her and how I liked being around her. I remembered how she was shaking after she got off my motorcycle, how we broke her out of school, how she duct taped herself to the ceiling, how beautiful she was when she sang…how she kissed me back…

"And then Kid hit me in the head with that damn Frisbee and here I am now." I clenched my fingers into a fist at my side. "I remembered at that moment what happened when you died."

_**—***—**_

Wes smiled down at his younger brother, who was scowling.

"Why can't I come with tomorrow?" Soul demanded, scrunching his scarlet eyes up at Wes.

Wes gave him a very patient look. "Because, Soul. You aren't old enough."

"I've been to a bar before." He lied, puffing out his chest. "No one's gonna hurt me."

"Have you now?" Wes raised an elegant eyebrow, causing the little boy to fidget uncomfortably and sigh.

"No…" Soul admitted dejectedly. "But why can't I come?"

"This time's different." Wes was giving his brother a no-nonsense, 'Listen to me' tone. "There are going to be bad people there. They won't be very happy when I show up like this." He stared pointedly at the limbs dangling uselessly at his sides. "You aren't going."

"If there are going to be bad people, why are you going?" Soul looked utterly perplexed, and Wes chuckled.

"Why am I going? Because Uncle Vince is a dumbass." He said it darkly, and Soul had never heard Wes talk about Vince like that. Sure, Vince could be stupid, but he was like a brother to both Wes and to Soul…

Frowning, something caught Wes's eye out the window. A blue car had pulled into the drive, its headlights gleaming, and Soul didn't recognize this vehicle. "Who's that?" he asked Wes curiously, but Wes didn't answer. He seemed rather pale and nudged Soul's shoulder with his own.

"Go to bed." Wes ordered, watching the headlights flicker off and two shadowed figures slammed the car doors, beginning to progress towards the house. "Now!"

Soul felt his heart constrict in his chest. Something was wrong. Something was really wrong. "What's going on?"

"_Now!"_ Wes shouted, and began struggling through drawers, using everything in his power to do this skillfully without his arms. He found a piece of paper and frantically began scrawling words, a pencil in his teeth, managing to get the note back into the drawer. Then he handled a pocket knife carefully, his eyes focused with the intent of pressing the jagged tip into a slanted indent on the side. A secret compartment burst open, and Wes mustered the ability to pull something small and box-shaped out with his teeth and slipped it out of Soul's view. His violent swearing was muffled as three sharp knocks sounded on the door, but he dropped the miniature box and kicked it into a nook between the desk and couch.

"Damn it, Soul," He hissed, pushing his little brother across the room. _"Hide."_

Soul scrambled under the dining room table, which was covered by a white tablecloth given to them by Sybil Evans, their dysfunctional crabby great-great aunt. He risked peeking out from under it, watching Wes step on a switch to a contraption just recently installed to solve his inability to open the door.

"Sorry for coming by unnoticed." A dark-haired young man who couldn't have been a year older than Wes sneered, walking inside uninvited. He examined the room with false interest, his violet eyes glittering, his hands never leaving his pockets. "We need to talk."

His companion waltzed in as well, and Wes nudged the door behind them quietly. "He gave me until Friday." He said briskly, getting straight to the point. "I'll have the money then."  
>"Something came up." The companion, a baby-faced man with shaggy hair so red it seemed ablaze, stated, eyeing Wes's paralyzed arms in an obvious fashion. "We need the money <em>tonight.<em>"

"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen." Wes snarled, looking dangerous. "Seeing as the first gig is tomorrow night—and I can't even play—plus I haven't a dime to my name."

"Liar!" The redhead sliced back at him, taking a step forward. "Your little friend sold you out. We know you're loaded."

"Where are you keeping Vince?" Wes demanded, stepping forward as well. "What have you done with him?"

"Oh, right. Vincent asked us to pass on a message." The dark-haired one inspected his fingernails, holding an air of boredom. "He says _'It's over. They've taken my last, and I can't deal with any more. I quit.'_ "

"What does he mean?" Wes said softly, an odd note in his voice. "_'They've taken my last'_?"

"You seem to be taking his betrayal very well." Dark-hair noted dryly. "What he means is simply that Henson here," he gestured towards the redhead. "—killed Jennifer."

Henson smiled nastily. "She was a bit of a screamer. Kept trying to fight back, even used her teeth against me." He brought a bandaged hand up, showing it to Wes, who looked very ill. "It still stings a bit, too."

"You bastards." He said coldly, a bit green in the face. "You killed his sister?"

"We haven't come here to explain things." Dark-hair said, brushing off the questions. "We need the money. The pin to your parents' vault will do just as well."

"Adrian, you mean to tell me that Vince didn't say?" Wes was sounding snappish. "My parents let me live here, but they don't support me. Why do you think I am—I mean, _was_—a musician?"

"Are you saying you don't know the pin number, then?" Henson raised an eyebrow.

"No." Wes said gruffly.

"Well then you're useless." Adrian pulled the gun out of his pocket, aimed it, and the loudest _Bang! _Soul had ever heard resonated throughout the room. The life drained out of Wes's eyes, and his body fell to the ground.

"Let's get out of here." Henson met Adrian's eyes. "His family may be home."

_**—***—**_

"Our parents came home two hours later." I told his grave. "Mother had a fit but Dad was the one who passed out. They didn't realize that I still hadn't moved out from under the table, and Mother called in Dr. Stein to look at your body. They convinced him to find a way to surgically hide the bullet wound, and managed to pull enough strings to prevent the media from finding out. They told me the next morning that you committed suicide.

"I wanted to believe that that night never happened so badly that I forced myself to believe them, putting those memories so far back in my mind that I convinced myself they were a part of my imagination. I couldn't bring myself to come to your funeral, either. The guilt has been tearing me apart. I—" I broke off, sitting up at the sound of someone scuffing through the grass. She came and sat next to me.

"Hey, Maka." I said quietly, and she leaned heavily onto my shoulder.

She managed a weak, "Hey," and tears started spilling from her startling green eyes.

I began to panic. Why was she crying? I didn't know how to deal with emotional girls. I hesitated and awkwardly patted her back, attempting to comfort her, and a bubble of laughter escaped her lips. I looked at her strangely. Now she was laughing? Oh, god, _what do I do?_

"You look scared." She noted. Her statement was a hiccup as the tears persisted to stream down her face.

"Because you're crying!" I yelped, unnerved. _And laughing at the same time…what the fuck?_ "Are you alright?"

Maka sniffled and whispered. "I didn't know."

I sighed, relieved to finally understand something. She'd overheard me talking. "Of course you didn't know. How much did you hear just now?"

"I-I came in around the time you started talking about how annoying I am."

"I, um, er…" I said intelligently, unsure how to apologize.

She smiled with puffy red eyes. "It's alright. You made up for it when you called me beautiful."

"Well, you are." I said defensively, not entirely convinced she wasn't accusing me of something. "You're beautiful and confusing."

"Confusing?"

"You're smiling and crying at _the same time!_" I was exasperated. Maka laughed. "There you go again!"

"I'm sorry." She said seriously. "Do you have any idea what happened to those guys? Adrian and Henson?"

"I have a pretty good idea." I said forebodingly. "And if they aren't dead they're going to wish they were." I grabbed Maka's hand and pulled her up. "Come on, we've got a long walk ahead of us."

She shook her head, pulling out the phone I'd given her. "I can just call Liz." Something seemed to hit her. "How _did_ you get this in my room, anyway?"

"Oh, _that_." I shrugged. "I just told the twins to get it to you. They probably broke into your house."

She blinked, and by the look in her eyes she obviously didn't put it past them

**I've been neglecting this story. I'm sorry. :'( I love you all, even if you hate me by now. I thank those of you who are still following this. And a special thanks to ShadyAngel, who sent me a text and reminded me that I had a chapter to finish. About halfway through this I realized that Wes can't use his arms and had to edit. I'm truly a dumbass. **


	6. Blair, Black Star, & the goddamned txt

**Special Thanks:**

****Recent Reviews for Chapter 2:**

**~Danni (): I was going to send u a private message, but it seems there was no reply link…hopefully if u continued reading and came across this u know the answer to ur question. I really appreciate ur use of the word "epic." It made me smile. :)**

**~the critic: Good job. ;P mwhahahhaha. Congrats, you're one of the few who did**

****Recent Reviews for Chapter 3**

**~Squeakyboots: Yay! I got complimented. I feel special. :3 This story is on about 40 or 50 favorite lists. I'm not sure tho, cuz I haven't checked in a while… But it makes me feel accomplished. :)**

****Recent Reviews for Chapter 4:**

**~(): Ur name reminds me of someone… *****cough, cough, ^^ looks up at first response***** I kno u knew it! Victory! Mwahaha, yay for being right! And again, "epic." LOVE that word! :P**

****Recent Reviews for Chapter 5:**

**~ShadyAngel/Ratri Tala: xP Ur my 60th review! Ratri! Hah, I got to use ur nickname…well, now it's ur new penname…anyway :) It pissed me off! :/ I'm such a dumbass. I typed a sentence that had to do with the pocket knife and using his hands and I stared at it for a minute… "SHIT!" **

**~kallen11: Once again, continuing. :P  
><strong>

**~70Seiji07: *gasp* U were mentioned again! It is funny that boys can be pretty clueless when girls burst into tears…it's like a bomb goes off for them. I'm a girl too, and the EXACT same thing happened with my friend. People were like "They're CRAZY!" and staring at us…I kind of screamed "WAFFLES!" at the top of my lungs…I was provoked, I tell you! xD It worked tho. She stopped crying, but kinda had to stop laughing so she could breathe… yep, the restrictions of needing oxygen. xP  
><strong>

**~Alik Takeda: I missed u too! Now I have a better grip on the plot again so hopefully I won't neglect the story any more…I keep getting sidetracked. :/ But I was struck with inspiration once more! Hehehe (Leeeeemmmmooooooon ;P I'm too much of a chicken ass to post one tho. :/ Stupid fact that I have parents.)  
><strong>

**~BlueEyedRosette: Ikr! I'll just be crying and start cracking up…Wandering the house and falling on my ass is a specialty and habit of mine. It'll be five in the morning and I'll have a sudden desire for toast or chocolate milk and wind up falling when the coffee table jumps out and attacks my ankle…My brain is also a masochist and decides to cleverly ignore the presence of a dog toy or my brother's legos…ow. But it's nice to know I'm not the only one cussing out inanimate objects when I fall on my ass. :3  
><strong>

**~Dt2009 with Dark Blue Wings: I think she would if only the twins could be stopped…probably impossible…Soul will take advantage of his fame when the time comes, but I'm afraid that may backfire on him. Keep reading~!  
><strong>

**~SakuandSyao-CLAMPFirlForever: I actually thought about Soul getting upset for about three seconds when I thought, meh. *****shrug* it worked out better this way. Plus there's the fact that neither of them know where their relationship stands and chaos ensues. That helped their bond strengthen, in a way.**

**~crazychick1313: I sat there staring at the screen. I felt REALLY stupid. xP **

**~Danni (): Ahh! I remember u, from like twelve seconds ago! Crying girls scare Soul. I my world they're like in his top 5 fears. I'm glad u like~! **

**~iHugZombiez: Glad u still like~! Ur pen name is so awesome it leaves me in tears. ;'P**

**~xJETx: Yup! Continuing on~! I'm glad u liked~!**

**~nlpkairi: Yes, the plot reflects on my psychotic-authorness. (Yes, that's a word. Wait? It's not? …oh well.) Looking back on the way I wrote that, I could see why u would think that. Sorry. -.-" **

**~Squeakyboots: O_o … … *****Starts typing rapidly***** I DON'T WANT TO DIE! Dx Crap. Too late. BUT I'VE COME BACK FROM THE DEAD TO CONTINUE! XD**

**~stephumz: Well I'll keep posting! :P**

**~MakaUchiha: I shall give u more then! Mwahaha! :3**

**~AlsoTheGame: I'm sorry! I just sort of lost where I was heading with this fic and had to reignite my spark with it before I continued. I was thrown off course after the fourth chapter because I revealed things far sooner than I was planning, but now I'm back on track.**

**~miyu-chan loves music: I'm really glad that you feel that way. :)**

**~bluenian98: On it~!**

**~sundance1989: Updating~!**

**~Spot'sGalFrom1899: Arigato gozaimasu! I'm really happy to hear that you like it. :)**

**~deanne914: Thank u! :)**

**~I CAN'T TELL U: Awwww! Seriously? Daily? I feel kinda teary-eyed. U ROCK MORE! Thanks for reviewing! :D**

**~Ginjersnapps: 1: YOU'RE SUCH A BADASS FROM BADASS HEAVEN AND I'M SORRY IF IT GETS CONFUSING!**

**2: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!**

**3: I LOVE REPLYING IN ALL CAPS IT'S TOTALLY NINJA KITTY! (and badass ;D )**

**4: I'VE ALSO RUN OUT OF THINGS TO SAY! XD  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, ooc-ness, a/u, randomness, etc.**

**Rating: For those of you who haven't noticed or are uninformed of my current stupidity, the rating has been changed to T. This is because, and here I give my apologies, ****I have decided **_**not **_**to post a lemon.**** There's still strong language! Yay for swearing!**

**But…TEAM LEMON STILL WINS! I know, I know. I'm not doing a lemon, which is highly disappointing for me…but my paranoia that my parents will somehow come across the writing has won out. Team Lemon still wins though, because of how awesome lemons are and because it got the most votes, but mostly because of awesomeness.**

**Those who voted, ****you know who you are and just how awesome you are!**** ;P**

**And I have to say I feel so loved! :3 u pplz make me so happy! I've officially got over 60….erm, EIGHTY? (Dayyyyyyymmmmmn!) reviews… I LUV U PPLZ! :D**

**Special thanks, again, to Squeakyboots. I appreciate the death threat. :3 It made my entire day, hell, it made my week. :D**

**Apology: man I say this waaaay too much, but I'm sorry for making you wait! I was planning on doing a double update, but I got stuck while writing the next chappie and felt that it wouldn't be fair to make you wait any longer.**

**SORRY FOR THE RANDOM P.O.V. CHANGES! It changes with my mood. Today I feel like third person. It's just that my mind is screwed up.**

**Introducing, Blair and Black Star! Anyone else itching for some Tsubaki x Black Star? I am! Literally. *****Itch, itch***** but let's just see where this is headed… (We all kno Black Star can be a tad clueless…)**

**Did anybody else have to itch when they read that? -.-" No? Well, then I feel special.**

**THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO ALL YOU READERS! xD Then again, I guess the whole story is…anyway…awkward silence….**

**Writing songs is stressful. Seriously. I don't think I'm destined to be a songwriter. xP**

**Chapter 6: Blair, Black Star, & the goddamned txt**

They found themselves in a random parking lot outside of the news station when Liz pulled up, Patty and Tsubaki in tow.

Liz took one look at Maka's puffy red eyes and pounced on Soul like an aggressive mother tigress. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"

"NOTHING!" Soul shouted, fearing for his life. "I DIDN'T—!"

"—DON'T YOU LIE TO ME—!"

"—I'M NOT LYING—!"

"—WHY HAS SHE BEEN CRYING—?"

"—IT'S NOT MY FAULT SHE'S SO EMOTIONAL—I DIDN'T—!"

"I SWEAR TO GOD, SOUL, IF YOU HURT HER—!"

"**MAKA-CHOP!"** Maka cried, chopping both of them in the back of the head. Patty was humming tunelessly while Tsubaki looked near tears herself, and Maka was seething.

She dumped both unconscious bodies into the back seat, and stared emptily at the driver's seat. "Erm…" She looked from Tsubaki to Patty. "Do either of you know how to drive?"

They both shook their heads very quickly.

"Damn it!" Maka ran her fingers through her bangs, exhaling. Something sparked. "I know! Let's call somebody." She looked eagerly at the two girls in back, and frowned, noticing the lack of unsymmetrical striped hair. "And where's Kid?"

Patty smiled deviously. "Kid went Night-Night."

"Night-Night?" Maka asked, confused and a little unnerved.

Patty nodded. "He had a break down. You know, symmetry, blah blah blah…only this time he got a bit more out of hand than usual. He's in his padded room at the moment, probably muttering to himself about rubber ducks."

Maka didn't ask. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

Somewhere, some odd number of miles away: Kid was rocking back and forth, a crazed gleam in his golden eyes. The straight jacket had many shiny, symmetrical silver latches in the back, and the padded room was quite comfortable. And symmetrical. Ah, wonderful symmetry... Kid twitched, muttering to himself "Rubber ducks. Eight, _symmetrical_ yellow rubber ducks…"

Somewhere, another some odd number of miles away from Kid: "What are we going to do now?" Maka groaned. This was only the second time she had knocked the only available person capable of driving out cold, but the last time she had happened to be right across the street from a mechanic…

Patty gazed at her phone, as if considering. "Well, I could see if Blair's back yet…"

Maka shrugged. "As long as we get a ride." She frowned, thinking longingly of her small, cramped apartment. Would she ever see her home again? She cringed, thinking off the workload piling for her at school. It isn't _fair!_

"Hello? Blair?" Patty said into the receiver, adjusting the cell on her shoulder. "You're sounding a lot better." There was silence as the person on the other line chattered animatedly. She sent a nervous look to Maka. "Oh, that's—that's great news. I'll be sure to tell the others. Yeah. We'll see you later, then."

She winced at she hung up, staring cautiously from Maka to Tsubaki after the excruciatingly short conversation.

"Well?" Tsubaki asked. "What's going on?"

"Blair…says she'll be able to make the concert." Patty said bleakly. "She said we can just dump the replacement." She held her hand up at Maka, who had been about to interrupt. "But I'm sure that won't happen. It'll be fine." It was as if she were trying to convince herself rather than Maka.

"That still doesn't solve our driving situation." Maka stated. "And you didn't even ask Blair if she could pick us up."

"We either find a way to revive these two or we call a cab." Patty decided.

The three girls shared a look and Maka said "Cab. Definitely cab."

**!~x~X~x~!**

"Are you sure it was alright to just leave them there?" A small frown line had furrowed between her eyebrows, and she sounded worried.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Patty waved, grinning. "Did you forget what Liz is capable of when she isn't unconscious?"

Tsubaki still appeared unconvinced, but she had always been the concerned, motherly type. Maka pat her shoulder reassuringly, while simultaneously yelling at the man steering the cab "LEFT! Turn _LEFT_, you daft man!"

The driver obliged, turning sharply and throwing the pigtailed girl at the window. That's what she gets for not wearing a seatbelt. Rubbing the sore red mark on her forehead, she snarled many interesting strings of swears under her breath.

"You guys want to go get some food?" Tsubaki asked. "My brother's café isn't to far from here."

"Sure," Patty agreed. "I could go for some food."

Maka swore much more loudly this time. "Oy! Turn around, we need to go right!"

The cab driver was glaring daggers at the girls in the rearview mirror, and swerved to avoid what could have been a particularly nasty collision.

Patty flung the cash at the driver as they got out, and the yellow cab sped out of sight as if its rear was aflame. The Shadow Café loomed over them, and Tsubaki led the way inside.

"Masamune!" She called cheerily. Joni, one of the employees, came to greet us instead.

"He's out at the minute, I'm afraid." She smiled. "But I'll gladly show you to a table. He should be back soon."

They took a table, and Joni brought a tray of water glasses and took a seat as well, fanning herself with her paper notepad.

"Today's been pretty slow. Maka, where've you been lately? Olivia had to take over your shift."

Tsubaki apologized "I was going to come in for her instead, but I wound up staying with them." She gestured to her two friends.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Maka grimaced. A horrible realization just dawned on her. "I'll be in tomorrow, though."

"What?" Patty blinked. "But Maka—!"

"My rent is due this Friday. I need to have _something_ to give my landlady." She grumbled. "And we haven't been doing much practicing. As I recall, that's the reason you pulled me out of school in the first place."

Patty stuck out her tongue. "We had to deal with those crazed reporter ladies. Plus you can't work tomorrow; we rescheduled your interview at four thirty!"

"What?" Maka was taken aback. "But we already did the interview!"

Patty shook her head. "No. We did the interview about the escape. Tomorrow we have to do the announcement about you officially replacing Blair."

"Am I replacing Blair?" Maka looked thoughtful. "Couldn't she just sing too?"

Patty laughed. "Soul would kill you if he heard you'd let Blair stay."

"Why's that?" Maka inquired.

"He's been looking for an excuse to fire her for years, but our manager wouldn't let him."

"Why?" Maka repeated.  
>"She brings in a lot of money." Patty said, seeming uninterested. "A lot of fans, too. They were mostly guys, but nobody complained. It was a nice change for once—not." She was suddenly considering "that Liz and I didn't have a few fans of our own."<p>

"I actually wanted to know why Soul would try to kill me." Maka told them.

"Oh," Patty giggled. "You'll see later."

Maka raised an eyebrow at this cryptic answer, but said nothing.

"How could you guys keep this from us for so long?" Tsubaki pouted slightly, apparently speaking about the twins' so-called 'secret' that they'd kept from both her and Maka. "How long have you been with the Scandalous Souls? And, no offense, what do you _do?_"

"Liz and I've been performing with them for about three months now. We're dancers." She made a face at Maka, who'd been moments from commenting. "I'd sing, but I'm afraid our ratings would plummet."

Maka and Tsubaki shared a grin. The twins weren't the greatest singers in the world.

Maka frowned at a table nearby, where two girls were gossiping noisily. They were gesturing at a magazine and Maka stretched, attempting to make herself taller to see the cover. All color drained from her face. Oh. _Shit._

"What?" Tsubaki caught the deadened look on her friend's face. "Maka, what's wrong?"

She pointed wordlessly at the magazine, and then proceeded to hide under her arms as though they were a bomb shelter.

Patty scrambled over to their table and snatched the magazine from the girls, who were about to hiss and fight to the death in an attempt to retrieve it, but they froze when they recognized her face, unable to speak.

She slammed the cover down on they table and everyone leaned closer, and a chorus of swears rang out. "Maka," Tsubaki said in disbelief. _"That's you!"_

And it was her, only her eyes were closed and there was a certain snowball-puff with lidded crimson eyes glued to her lips. In big, frighteningly bold letters were the words _**"SOUL EATER EVANS, LOVE AT LAST?"**_

Maka whimpered: the first bomb had dropped, somehow squeezing its way past her defenses and exploding on her temple. "This isn't happening."

"Well, now we know what they're going to question you about tomorrow." Patty snickered.

_This isn't happening._

"When _is_ the engagement, Maka?" She added, smirking.

_This is_ NOT _happening._

"According to the article, it's in February. They're flying out to the islands for their honeymoon." Tsubaki looked bemused, quoting the malevolent glossy paper full of lies.

"_Holy fucking mother of pea pods drowning in syrup!_ I'm going to _kill him!_" Maka snarled with a crazed look in her eyes.

"Why? You kissed him back." Patty laughed at the outraged look on Maka's face. "The proof is right here."

"But I didn't come up with it! I wasn't _planning_ on kissing him!"

"You told him he could do whatever he wanted." Tsubaki reminded her.

"I did no such thing!" Maka growled, in obvious denial.

"'_Fine, do whatever. Just don't screw this up.'_" Patty quoted her, word for word.

"God damn it." Maka sighed, wondering whether or not this could be considered 'screwing up.' "There's only one thing to do."

"What?" Tsubaki asked, recognizing the gleam in Maka's eyes.

"Blame the media!" Maka shouted triumphantly.

The petite blonde shrugged. "Eh." Patty grinned. "That works too."

They ordered aimlessly between the lunch and dinner menus, unable to decide on one specific meal time. By the time they had finished Masamune arrived, greeting his sister and employee with a nod. "Maka, when are you getting back to work?"

Maka grimaced, tugging at a pigtail uncertainly. "Honestly, I have no idea. Probably not until after this Saturday."

"That's fine. The others will just have to take your shift until then."

Joni and Olivia's eyeballs wore equal expressions of _"noooooooo!"_ and _"I hate you, Maka!"_

Maka gave them an apologetic look, feeling guilty.

**!~x~X~x~!**

The three girls came back to Death Studio and saw three new vehicles parked nearby. One being Liz's Porsche, another apparently a sleek red sports car belonging to Blair. The third was some sort of truck, only it was a shiny ink-color with silver writing painted on the side; Black Star's signature.

They cautiously made their way into the kitchen, where a dramatic scene had already begun to unfold.

"You can't fire me!" Blair shrieked in outrage. "You're nothing without me! _Nothing!_"

Her purple hair fell down her back, her yellow eyes ablaze. Her violet cat ears looked like their tips were dipped in a tub of vanilla ice cream.

"You heard me, Blair, now _get out!_" Soul looked like he was enjoying her pain greatly. It was amusing in an almost-sadistic sort of way. "Leave! And don't come back!"

Blair stared up at him for a minute. Her mouth's corners curled and she purred quietly "Soul, I know you surely don't mean that." Her fingers trailed up his arm.

Soul shivered with a look of white hot rage in his eyes. "I meant every word. Now _out!_"

She pounced on him and his head slammed on the ground. Maka wouldn't be surprised if he had a concussion. Blair rubbed his face against her enormous chest, muttering that he was forgiven. His face burned until blood spurted out of his nose and he fell out of consciousness one again. Honestly, the guy spent more time knocked out than conscious.

Maka bit the inside of her cheek to contain herself, her thoughts so dark and rapid that no one would _want_ to understand them. Everyone around her should probably keep on their toes, lest they wanted to face her wrath.

This was apparently a reoccurring event because Patty walked past without a word and joined her sister on the couch. A tuft of blue hair and snoring from an armchair announced Black Star's presence, and Tsubaki turned every shade of scarlet in the book as she stared at him.

To Maka's shock and ever-increasing mental disturbance Blair's eyes lit up at the sight of her and she was folded into a bone-crunching hug. "Ooooh, Maka! It's so nice to finally meet you!"

"…ice…eet yu…oo." Came Maka's muffled response. Blair let go and she gasped in oxygen with alarming noises.

"I've heard so much about you! I can't believe we get to work together. Am I invited to the wedding?"

"Er…" Maka voiced awkwardly.

"I was thinking the bridesmaids should wear light gold." Her eyes were sparkling. "And white roses. Plus the dress would bring out this one's color nicely." She pointed to Tsubaki, who was frowning thoughtfully.

"I-I'm not…" Maka stuttered, but Blair didn't seem to hear her protests and was talking animatedly to the twins, who didn't seem inclined in the slightest to respond to the questions being directed at them. The purplette plowed on relentlessly, squealing over wedding plans.

Indolently Maka began to wonder how Blair's sudden recovery would affect her. The concert seemed to get closer and closer, and they'd barely gotten any practicing done together…Blair already knew all of her songs, so would she even be needed?

She could return to school, start to get that work done. But something tugged at her heart, and an inexplicable sadness threatened to overwhelm her at the thought of leaving the people who had practically become her second family. She would still see the twins every now and again, but Kid and Soul she wasn't so sure about…

Soul had asked her to stay with them, to become a permanent member of Scandalous Souls. Would he, possibly, still want her to stay, even with Blair back in the picture? Or would she just be swept aside and forgotten, like an old newspaper article that had caught one's attention before it abruptly became uninteresting?

With a small expel of breath, Maka left the crowded room to wander the maze of hallways. It was much cooler in here, and the chill was pleasant. She took step after step until she stood in front of a familiar door, and with only the smallest hesitation pushed it open.

The orange couch was empty, the bowl of guitar picks tipped on its side, its contents spilling out into the coffee table. The instruments lay casually about, propped against walls or spread on the floor. Maka reached for the green guitar and caressed the strings slowly, her mind elsewhere. Without conscious thought she began playing, eventually singing along quietly to the melody.

"_Once upon a time,_

_I lost everything_

_My world crumbled before my eyes_

_And in the rubble, all I'd find_

_Was that my heart was broken._

_But there's always a voice, the one that says softly,_

"_I know you'll survive."_

_So hold you head up high,_

_Let your hair fall down_

_Wear your doubt like it's a crown_

_Don't let life put you down_

_Smile despite the rain_

_Brush past the clouds,_

_Your sorrow, all your pain, _

_Can go away_

_If only for a moment…_

_You can find_

_What's left of me_

_Clutching to the edge_

_Of sanity_

_A whisper on the wind_

_Leaves me freefalling_

"_I know that you can do it."_

_As hard as it can be,_

_The past is the past_

_And you aren't me_

_So let it go_

_It's not like you know who I really am_

_So hold your head up high,_

_Let your hair fall down_

_Wear your doubt like it's a crown_

_Don't let life put you down_

_Smile despite the rain_

_Brush past the clouds,_

_Your sorrow, all your pain, _

_Can go away_

_If only for a moment…_

_A picture's worth a thousand words_

_But words are meaningless_

_if they aren't true_

_One tear creates an ocean_

_Don't drown in your depression_

_Learn to swim _

_Float up as your mind_

_Begins to wander_

_And soon you'll realize_

_There are plenty of fish in the sea_

_If it wasn't meant to be,_

_Don't worry,_

_Time will tell you_

_You are beautiful_

_So hold your head up high,_

_Let your hair fall down_

_Wear your doubt like it's a crown_

_Don't let life put you down_

_Smile despite the rain_

_Brush past the clouds,_

_Your sorrow, all your pain, _

_Can go away_

_If only for a moment…"_

"_There_ you are." Soul grumbled, shutting the door behind him. Maka abruptly stopped strumming the guitar, staring at him blankly. "Leave me for the sharks, why don't you?"

Maka grinned at him as he plopped down next to her. "Having a hard time firing Blair?"

A scowl graced his lips. "She _never_ listens to me."

"Now she's on some wedding tirade. Speaking of that…" He narrowed his ruby-colored eyes. "Were you aware that we're engaged?"

"Are we now?" She tried to keep her face stoic, but the corners of her mouth twitched up. "Well, I haven't seen a ring."

Soul raised an eyebrow. "Do you _want_ a ring?"

Maka only blinked. "Do I _want_—? Soul, where are you going?" She demanded, but before she could stand he was already out the door. Stumbling a bit, she stood and started after him, only to become lost in the labyrinth. The green-eyed girl kicked at a wall when her confusion became frustration and snarled when she stubbed her toe. _What _could he possibly be up to?

She reached the kitchen with ever-increasing paranoia. _"Do you _want_ a ring?"_

"Have you guys seen Soul?" She asked uneasily.

To her surprise it was the now awake blueberry-head, Black Star, who answered, still sprawled on an armchair. "You just missed him. Why?"

"Do you know where he went?"

"No, he never mentioned where he was going."

Maka bit back her disappointment. She could feel an unusual fluttering in her stomach, and her heart was pounding like a jackhammer. Maka could almost taste the anxiety on her tongue. "Is he on his bike?"

"Nah, he borrowed my car. You're that Maka girl, right?"

She waved off his question, pulling her cell phone out from her pocket and cursing herself for not learning how to use it properly. After several failed attempts, she managed to send one single text message: **Where are you going?**

Soul's reply nearly stopped her heart. Two simple words and her entire world fell into chaos. **Ring shopping.**

**Oh shit! xP**

**These cliffhangers sure are annoying, aren't they? The song was just something I felt like throwing in there. I wrote that when I was feeling depressed & desperately needed some cheering up. I know I'm insufferable, but please bear with me. Panda, polar, grizzly, whichever you prefer. Just keep in mind that I'm already dead, because I had seven days and failed miserably. Now I must wait for my damn phone to charge so I can post this. School started! DAMN! x(**

**I'm seriously stuck in a rut with the next chapter. I got halfway through it and my mind went blank. :/**

**Au revoir~! Don't eat foie gras. ****It sounds disgusting. O_o if you like foie gras, well, more power to ya. My vegetarian stomach could never process it. **


	7. The Flaw in the Engagement

**Special Thanks:**

**~Dt2009 with Dark Blue Wings: :D ~~~! I read way too much into things all the time. I considered him joking around, but that was less fun for me~! The question really is: Are they seriously going to get married? Just because they're sort of engaged, doesn't mean that they're really gonna go through with it…or does it? Who knows?**

**~muffinlover18: WHAA! I'm glad you like it~! The idea of them being in a band was what brought this story to life! I'm thinking about posting the songs on youtube, but first I'd need a decent camera…my phone's video options suck sooo badly. If/when they're up I'll definitely post a link! Blair's too eccentric to hate Maka in this. :P**

**~Ratri Tala: YOU REVEALED MY SECRET IDENTITY!...even if you spelled it wrong….YOU FUTHER MUCKING BAT RASTARD! Eh, I still love you anyway, Maddie. Mwahahaha, now we're even. Hey, do you happen to own a video camera?**

**~SecretiveLife: Yes, yes he is. :D glad u liked**

**~Layla's Lancaster: :) Well keep on wondering, for you shall never know! …jk, I'm not that evil. xD**

**~LoveMeLikeCrazy: Awww thak youuuu!**

**~crazychick1313: It's all good, buddy! xP You're forgiven :3 **

**~mabello: Hehehe sorry but I think she wants it. :P Even if she didn't, I don't think she'd want to share Soul. xD Thank you!**

**~Emcronia: :P Thanks for the feedback! So glad you liked, and I really appreciate the stuff about writer's block~! **

**~Squeakyboots: Thank you. I am now constantly looking over my shoulder for fear of being attacked by a giant blue coconut. Assignments are overrated anyway. :3 As for being not dead, I'm not really sure how much time I have left….the coconuts could be anywhere… Yesh! Polar bears can be both cuddly and ferocious :P**

**~THE CRITIC: I shall not disable anonymous reviews unless I feel like it. I don't want you to hate me…yet. O-o I'd just like you to be aware that a mysterious and very suspicious package arrived at my doorstep the other day and I'm refusing to open it. I very well just may cross your line as THE CRITIC, seeing as you are the only thing standing in my way to becoming Supreme Ruler of all things Churro… I think I'm gonna change my pen name to that because it sounds so fucking awesome. :) Your stick of dynamite has been doused by my all-mighty octopus sprinkler, so there IS, in fact, still evidence that you set the zombies on the feds. Bob is officially my lawyer and refuses to let his zombie brethren defile our case. Fluffy is now in charge of the squirrel-dog mafia and has told me to warn you that the lobster is in the pudding…whatever that's code for…Anyway, au revoir, my friend. Farewell! :P**

**~Midlina: Yes he is ;P**

**~deanne914: Pandas and toast are extraordinarily amazing! So glad you liked and reviewed~! You missed me? Awww I feel so loved xD You have earned my friendship, please treat it kindly. You can also have some anti-itch crème. xP**

**~Alik Takeda: !**

**~70Seiji07: IKR! I just wanna write one so badly but there's always that irritating paranoia…SWIPER NO SWIPING! …sorry I'm not quite sure where that came from…anyway, thankshoe! -.-" School, blechh**

**~SymmetricalGirl8DeathTheKid: Whahh sorry u had to wait… x.x" But thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it~~! **

**~Katie K. Richardson: Ummm I haven't named the song yet xD sorry. I'll tell ya when I do tho! Thanks for the review, I'm so glad that you like it!**

**~Ginjersnapps: You're right, that did cheer me up. xD Thank you for those inspiring words of wisdom, I've taken them to heart**

**~Kallen11: I haven't named it yet but I'll be sure to tell you when I do :3 Glad you liked~!**

**~AuburnLove: You're forgiven; this review makes up for the times that you didn't. ;P Death threats are fine as long as their creative and hilarious, but I didn't appreciate being called a bitch. :/ Seriously, that left me pissed. Love ya anyway tho! I'll be sure to throw in some moody fangirls soon! **

**~xXHikariRenXx: Gah, please don't hate me! I'll write more!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, AU, OOC-ness, etc.**

**Chapter 7: The Flaw in the Engagement**

"When did my life become so complicated?" I sighed, fanning myself methodically with a folded magazine. "This is insane."

Tsubaki chuckled, pulling on a strand of her dark hair thoughtfully. She was resting on the wide mattress, flat on her stomach with her ankles crossed midair. Her pajamas matched the navy blue comforter, but the plush white carpeting only made me yearn for my empty apartment even more.

We were in what had been deemed "My Room," at least for the duration of my stay at Death Studios.

"Can I see the ring again?" She pleaded, pouting with big doe eyes. I smiled ruefully, pulling the velvet box from my pocket and handing it to her.

"Knock yourself out." The words came without interest, but I still found myself leaning closer to get a better view of it.

The piece of jewelry sat innocently on a scrap of white silk, the band an elegant gold circle. The diamond was the perfect size, in the shape of a square and not _too_ big, so it wasn't that flashy or gaudy. It was surrounded by a crisscross of glinting red rubies and smaller diamonds, the pattern interweaving all around the ring. Looking at it reminded me of Soul's deep, gemlike crimson eyes.

I closed the box, shutting the ring back into its velvet tomb once we were done admiring it. My brows furrowed in frustration and I fell back on the bed next to Tsubaki, already exhausted by the day's events. And it wasn't even dark out yet. Pathetic.

My best friend asked curiously "Do you think Soul is serious?"

"I don't know what is going through his mind. If he is, what the hell am I supposed to do? I only just met the guy, but…" But I'm constantly aware of his presence, too aware. Every time he speaks I get these inexplicable _chills_, every time he accidently brushes past me I tingle, every time he says my name it sounds different to my own ears… When the pain of his brother's death burned in his scarlet eyes, I wanted nothing more than to hold him and do whatever it took to make that pain go away. When he smiles, I get this strange feeling in my chest, like my heart is swelling and soaring, like his happiness is contagious. And when he kissed me…

Emerald-eyes wide I gaped at Tsubaki with a sudden realization. "…I think I'm in love with him."

She reacted as almost any close friend would, squealing and pulling me into a monster hug. "That's so _cute!_"

I glared at her. "Erm…I mean…congratulations." She amended weakly. I smiled, returning her hug and we erupted into a fit of manic giggles before turning in for the night.

"Hold, _still!_" Liz hissed, yanking back my hair with vigor. I yelped, digging my fingers into my seat while my deranged friend/hair stylist arranged my hair into a knot of wavy braids atop my head. I blinked past the tears that threaten to water my eyes; she'd twisted it so tight that I was starting to feel a headache coming on.

"Do you have any Tylenol?" I groaned, moving to rub my temples. Liz swatted my hands away when they got too close to her masterpiece.

"Patty?" Liz inquired, continuing to twist and tug my hair into pins.

"On it," Patty sang, skipping out of the dressing room for a moment. She returned with two tiny miracles in the form of pills and a paper cup filled with water.

Liz allowed me a brief moment to down the headache medicine before she returned to attacking my hair. "There." She smiled triumphantly. Then she narrowed her eyes at me menacingly. "Now if you touch it I swear to god I will hunt you down."

I nodded with wide, frightened eyes.

"Now for the make-up!" Patty announced, approaching with an eyeliner pen at hand.

I whimpered, but Liz grinned. "That's right. Now be a good girl and, for god's sake, _don't _blink."

I emerged from the dressing room in a simple black skirt and a pale pink shirt of layered frills. My eyes were heavy, my entire face feeling like it was coated with paint, and a deep scowl had taken over my glossy lips. My reflection didn't look bad. The dark eye make-up gave a smoky effect, making my green eyes appear far more striking than usual.

"You look great." Tsubaki gushed, patting me on the back.

"I feel like a Barbie doll." I grumbled spitefully, wobbling on strappy high heels.

"Oh, you'll be fine." Liz looked impatient. "Now hurry up, that was your cue. Get your ass out there, Albarn!"

I tried in vain to wipe the scowl off my face before I was blinded by the lighting on the set. It was a staged version of what was supposed to be a "comfortable" setting, with a plushy chair and matching loveseat, a clean wooden coffee table in between. There was a small portion of sports drinks lying out, which might have been an attempt at being casual had none of the labels been in direct view of the cameras.

Soul had made himself at home on one side of the loveseat and looked beyond dying of boredom. The barely-visible slant to his gaze told me that he was annoyed about something, but other than that, his face was completely placid and devoid of emotion.

He patted the empty seat next to him and by some extraordinary power I managed to take my place without falling on my face. Soul casually threw an arm over my shoulder while I kept sneaking glances at the cameras, fidgeting.

"Maka, it's so nice to see you again." The almond-haired woman's voice clinked like a wine glass, smiling down at me plastically.

I returned the false cheery tone with one of my own. "I honestly wish I could say the same, Anne."

Soul covered a snort of amusement with a cough, but his mouth still curved upwards and the unvoiced mirth sparked in his eyes. I shared a look with him, grinning. He cocked an eyebrow, questioning something, but Anne cleared her throat and interrupted our 'conversation.'

"I'm going to kindly forget that you said that." Anne's faux smile never faded, though a muscle in her jaw twitched.

"Would you like me to repeat it?" I said sweetly. My general dislike for this woman, tied with my dispassion for Barbie-like clothing and shoes that had potential as a lethal weapon, did not make me a happy camper, or a happy interviewee.

Her sugar-coated demeanor faltered slightly, and there was a sharp edge to her voice when she spoke. "Why don't we just move right on to the questions?"

"Let's," I crossed my legs in a typical 'ladylike' fashion and laced my fingers together, imitating Anne's posture perfectly.

This gesture did not go unnoticed by the reporter woman. As skilled a professional she claimed to be, she kept her poker face in check, successfully hiding her annoyance. "First of all, are you two really engaged?"

I opened my mouth, not quite sure how to respond when I didn't quite know the answer myself. Soul deadpanned "Well, she's wearing my ring, isn't she?"

Another face muscle twitched. "So I take that as a 'yes?'"

Annoying this woman was entertaining.

"Yes," I confirmed, feeling heat rush to my already-rosy cheeks. Patty should have just skipped the blush; I would've managed just fine on my own.

"Lovely. So when _is_ the wedding?"

Flustered and uncomfortable, I became increasingly aware of the men pointing objects with shiny lenses and blinking red lights in our direction. Off in the background there was a medium-sized screen portraying a smaller version of our images. In the left corner were the letters spelling out _Live._

"We haven't decided on a time yet." Soul looked wary as he felt the pale, whimpering paranoia I was radiating. Just how many people could see us right now? Watching our slightest move, scrutinizing our every word… "I was thinking some time next year."

Anne frowned. "Why not sooner?"

"Because," I said, scooting closer to Soul and sending suspicious glances at the cameras. "I can't legally marry at seventeen."

Anne sipped daintily at a water bottle with a pink bendy straw sticking out of it. "You could if you had a parent's permission."

I tensed. "My parents are dead."

Anne began choking violently, placing her water on the table. "I'm so sorry." She said it so sincerely, so gently, that I had to believe her.

I brushed off her apology, taking Soul's hand in mine. "Let's just move on. Do you have any more questions?"

"Ugh," I groaned loudly as I came off the set, where I was instantly surrounded by my friends. "Is it over yet?"

"Nope," Soul looked amused at my grumpiness. "This is only our twenty minute break."

"Shit. Seriously? How long do these things usually last?"

"Typically a couple hours," Liz yawned, approaching me with a considerate scowl. She yanked me back several steps until we were directly under a light and there weren't any pesky shadows interfering with her examination. An aggravated grumble forewarned me to the upcoming storm.

I winced as my clear-as-day attempt for freedom was cut short. "Fuck, Maka! I _told_ you not to touch your eyes!" She scolded, dragging me with a huff back into my dressing room. The next thing I knew I was seated in that blasted chair with two disapproving girls wiping at my makeup.

"This is so _boring!_" I whined, obeying when Patty told me to open my eyes wider and to look up at the ceiling.

"It can't be _that_ bad." Tsubaki came up beside my chair, where I gave her a pitiful, tortured-child pout.

"Yes," I promised darkly. "Yes, it can."

"On the bright side," Liz grinned while pulling out a tube of mascara. "Do you have any idea just how many girls are planning your death at the moment?"

I gaped at her and spluttered out, "How can you consider that a _good_ thing?"

She shrugged and returned to work.

"YAHOO!" An obnoxious voice shouted. It brought with it a bright blue blur as someone stampeded into the room with a dazzling white-toothed grin.

I shivered, feeling the room's temperature slowly drop as Liz's eyes twitched compulsively; the mascara wand had swept a goopy glob of black stuff down my cheek.

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!" The elder twin raged, clenching her fists and preparing to straight-out sprint after the monstrosity that could only be described as Black Star. Her hands were literally trembling with the need to strangle him.

Patty cleaned up my face with a series of giggles while her sister was overwhelmed with murderous intent, chasing Black Star out of the room. Various clangs and protests could be heard as the two 'inconspicuously' began to destroy the set.

Tsubaki's face flushed as she ran off to be the responsible super-human she was and calm them down, simultaneously repairing as much emotional damage as she could.

"Give it a rest, you guys!"

"THE GREAT BLACK STAR NEVER NEEDS REST! HE IS FAR TOO GODLY AND INDESTRUCTIBLE TO NEED SOMETHING AS WEAK AND MUNDANE AS—!"

"**MUST—KILL!"**

"Life," I sighed, pinching my nose with my index finger and thumb. "Those two need therapy."

Soul raised a questionable eyebrow. "Do you have any idea what that poor therapist would go through?"

I pretended to weigh my thoughts on a scale. "Personally, I'd just skip demanding for a raise and head straight to the closest lawyers' office."

A tentative knock drew my attention, and I blinked as a violet-haired woman entered with a cat-like grace. A slow smile curled at her lips as Blair purred, "Maka, there's someone here to see you."

"Who?" I asked her, smiling politely with traces of mystification in my eyes. Who could possibly want to visit me?

A nervous-looking man walked into the room. His scarlet red hair had grown; it fell just above his shoulders, and in his arms were a bouquet of flowers and a worn leather-bound book. He was dressed in a clean, neatly pressed navy suit with a matching tie. Spirit Albarn.

My smile faltered. "Papa." Was all I said, meeting the gaze of the man I hadn't seen since he'd lost himself and became a drunken black hole of severe depression, alcohol, and the occasional—more like frequent—loose women.

Spirit swallowed, taking in the room wordlessly, and hesitantly stepped away from the door. "Maka."

At a loss for what to say, I unconsciously reached behind me and latched onto Soul's arm for support. "W-what—" I took a deep breath, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you." He whispered. "Baby, after your mom died—"

"After Mom died you gave up." I spat, rising to my feet. Anger boiled, stirring the feelings that I hadn't acknowledged in years. My free hand pointed accusingly at his chest. "You were supposed to be there for me! Because of you, I didn't just lose my mother. I lost my father too."

Spirit flinched back, stung. My chest was rising and falling quickly, but no tears sprung to my eyes. I was far too angry to cry.

"You abandoned me."

"I've gotten help, Maka. And I'm here now."

"And yet that means nothing." Seeing his cautious and uncertain expression, his weak and heartbroken stare only enraged me further. I only barely registered that his eyes were unglazed and his skin wasn't flushed in the slightest; he was currently sober.

A slow, painful sensation began to unfurl in my chest. Before I knew it I was dashing out the door.

Soul started after Maka, only to be held back by Liz, who was shaking her head. "No, Patty and I'll handle her. You stay here and talk to _him._" She nodded at Spirit, who was looking lost and distraught.

"But—," Soul began to protest. The twins were already leaving the room, Blair trailing closely behind. The door clicked neatly, a sort of final, ominous sound, and he was left alone with Maka's father figure.

The bouquet of flowers limply drooped to the floor, escaping the red-haired man's uncertain grasp. With a sluggish exhale of breath, Spirit dropped himself into a plastic folding chair. "I knew this wouldn't be easy." He said, speaking more to himself than to the only other living creature in the dressing room. "But I had to try. For her. For Maka."

Soul warily seated himself a little ways away from Spirit, who was pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, but said nothing.

"It was so hard, after Kami died. I just…lost the will to live. I stopped caring. Nothing had any meaning."

Spirit slowly flipped the age-worn leather book open. Soul realized that it was a picture album. Fingers lightly flicked and combed the plastic-covered pages until Spirit found what he'd been looking for; the photograph was crinkled around the edges, like it had been crumpled up but obsessively smoothed back out before it'd been added to the collection. A petite, smiling little girl with familiar pigtails was dimpling at the camera, her hands gripping onto a woman tightly. She was beautiful, with the same blonde hair as her daughter, with visible laugh lines and a trivial crinkle to her smiling eyes. A youthful man with crimson hair was behind the two, his arm thrown casually around them as he angled the camera to fit all three of them into view.

"My baby girl has gotten so big." Spirit whispered, handing Soul the book of precious memories. He gave the snowy-haired boy a wry once over. "It's hard to believe she has another man in her life now."

"She still cares about you." Soul told him. "Maka's just holding a grudge against you, and a hard one at that. She isn't taking your sudden reappearance that well."

"I have eyes, too, you know." Spirit grumbled.

"I'm just saying that it's obvious that you meant a lot to her."

"And what about you?" The redheaded male asked, crossing his arms. "What do you mean to her?"

Soul's eyes fell to his scruffy sneakers. "I'm not sure yet. All I know is what she means to me."

Spirit raised an eyebrow as if to say, _"Which is?"_

"Everything."

**Well, it's a little short for my taste. What do you think? Maka's father has a bigger role in things than you might think. :P I figured I wouldn't leave you on a cliffhanger this time! Hahaha**

**Anyway, I'm realizing that time is really fucked up in this story. When I went back and reread things (noticing the bazillion mistakes I've made :/ ) I saw that things are moving at an insane pace. Is three or four days too short of a time to fall in love with someone? …nah. It did bring to my attention that Saturday is coming up fast. That means songs must be written…wish me luck! **


End file.
